For They Shall Be Filled
by Vain
Summary: Revelations Arch: Book 1; COMPLETE. Following "If I Only . . . Tailhammer"--When an old enemy returns to haunt the Digital World, Gennai calls on Ken and the others to correct the mistakes of the past--but first they have to save themselves . . .
1. Prologue

For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: ****Vain (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

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**__________________________________________________________**

Disclaimer:I don't own Digimon.I am not that fortunate.Digimon is owned by Fox Kids, Saban (I think), and a bunch of now-wealthy Japanese people. 

Lucky bastards.Moreover, I am American.I take French. 

If you want to know French words, names, and spellings, e-mail me.Do not ask me for Japanese.

I love Asian culture, but I can't spell anything Asian worth a damn. 

Hell, I can't spell anything in English worth a damn.

If I have mauled Japanese names (particularly for places and digimon), 

PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND E-MAIL ME CORRECTIONS.

Also, this is one of the reasons why I use the American names

(despite the fact that I prefer the names Osamu, Iori, and Yamato over the English).

Please don't sue me or steal from me; I'm poor and a real bitch when it comes to my work.

Feedback is a rose in December--novel, beautiful, and always welcome.

ENJOY THE FIC. 

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**_~You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?_**

**_It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men._****__**

**-Matthew 5:13**

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Prologue 

For every known world, there are a hundred unknown, all existing as silent shadows parallel to our own earth.These worlds all coincide in the same time and space in a delicate balance.Therefore, as goes one world, so go them all.Of all worlds, the digital world and the world called Earth existed together more closely than all others, until it became impossible to determine which world mirrored the other.

It has happened, in times of great trial, that the boundary between the two worlds was weakened and the straining forces, be they darkness or light, fought for dominance over all worlds, destroying the balance.The first time this occurred a dark force arose from a conflicted world and sought to dominate the other through force and fear.Nine champions, the human guardians of the Digital World, were called upon to save all worlds and restore the balance between the Digital World and the human Earth.They did this, but only at a great cost to them.

It became necessary to choose between the lesser of two evils, and the resulting decision lead to the first Seduction of the Digidestined.For all the Light in a person's soul, there is an equal amount of Darkness.For all one's Courage, there is an equal amount of Cowardice.And for all the Kindness in the soul, there is always an equal amount of Cruelty.This is not only the nature of the Worlds, but also of Life itself. 

The original Digidestined were successful.The darkness that had plagued the Digital and Real Worlds could not be destroyed, but the diseased land was cut away, forever separating from the two worlds that birthed it.However, the Chosen Children's victory and the circumstances from which it had arisen set a precedent that has been followed to this day.Only when faced with the utmost danger were the full powers of the Digidestined to be released.To this end, one of the Three Sacred Crests was locked away and in its place a faux Crest was offered.It had become obvious that the nature of the Sacred Crests weakened the natural defenses in the human soul and it was deemed best to eliminate one weakness instead of all three.The Ninth Chosen Child was then hidden away in every generation, kept safely out of the reach of both the powers of Darkness and protected with the Faux Crest.

In this fashion, time passed.But the Guardians of the Digital World grew lax and complacent.Errors were made and the Bearers of the Nine Crests suffered for the mistakes of their Guardians.A great darkness arose in the Digital World, imported from Earth, and at the eleventh hour the Ninth Crest, the Golden Radiance, was released and then replaced by the Faux Crest.This act resulted in the salvation of the Ninth Child's soul.But the darkness that had originally corrupted him still existed.It was an ancient and patient evil.It knew how to wait and bide its time.It knew the Laws of Destiny.

And so it waited until its chance came.And then it seized it.

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	2. Picnics

For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

** **

**__________________________________________________________**

Disclaimer:I don't own Digimon.I am not that fortunate.Digimon is owned by Fox Kids, Saban (I think), and a bunch of now-wealthy Japanese people. 

Lucky bastards.Moreover, I am American.I take French. 

If you want to know French words, names, and spellings, e-mail me.Do not ask me for Japanese.

I love Asian culture, but I can't spell anything Asian worth a damn.

Hell, I can't spell anything in English worth a damn.

If I have mauled Japanese names (particularly for places and digimon), 

PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND E-MAIL ME CORRECTIONS.

Also, this is one of the reasons why I use the American names

(despite the fact that I prefer the names Osamu, Iori, and Yamato over the English).

Please don't sue me or steal from me; I'm poor and a real bitch when it comes to my work.

Feedback is a rose in December--novel, beautiful, and always welcome.

ENJOY THE FIC. 

** **

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**_~Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled._****__**

**-Matthew 5:6**

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Part One 

Davis Motomiya grinned like a pumpkin and tackled Tai from behind."Oh, yeah?Well, take this!"

Not one to be daunted by a big mouth, the older boy twisted out of his grasp, grabbed the goggles Davis wore, pulled them back and released them with a snap.There was a yelp of pain as the plastic connected with bare skin at a high rate of speed.Kari looked up at the two of them and smiled in spite of herself; they were just big babies.

The two groups of Digidestined had all gotten together for a picnic in the real world, a rare thing considering that Mimi now lived in America and Joe was studying for med. school, and they had decided to finish off lunch by voting on who was the better soccer player: Tai or Davis.Tai won.The real reason for the meeting was to talk about everything that had been happening recently in the digital world, but the day was far too nice to be depressed.Apparently, however, that fact was lost on two of the Digidestined.

Yolei frowned over Poromon's head, regarding their "joint leaders" with a slight grimace."Hello!Did you all forget that we're here to talk about Ken?"

"Oh relax, Yolei."Mat took a sip of his Coke."You're almost serious as Cody sometimes, you know that?"

Cody looked up, offended, but was interrupted by T.K. before he could defend himself."Mat's right for once.You two really need to just relax and have fun once in a while."

"Oh, that's easy for you to say!God only knows what he could be doing in the Digital World right now, but you two would rather eat Fruit Roll-Ups than investigate."

Demiveemon frowned."I like Fruit Roll-Ups!"

"Well, no one was asking you!"

The little blue digimon looked towards his human in confusion and watched as Davis pulled out the grass that had gotten caught in his hair during his romp with Tai."What's wrong with Fruit Roll-Ups?"

The spiky-haired boy shrugged and joined the circle."I dunno.I like Fruit Roll-Ups.I like Ken, too.I don't see what's up with her."

Yolei turned red."You don't see what's up?!Were you even paying attention to what happened at the Primary Village?"

Joe adjusted his glasses on his nose and swallowed the piece of carrot he had been chewing for the past five minutes."Fruit Roll-Ups are bad for your teeth.And just what did happen at Primary Village?"The older boy shook his head and sighed."I'm afraid I'm out of the loop."

T.K. shrugged in response."We'd tell you, but we're not sure ourselves.We were on cleanup crew when Cody and Armadillomon were attacked by Thundermon for no reason.Cody got blasted into the air by one of Thundermon's attacks and we were all sure that he was a goner when this other digimon came out of nowhere and grabbed him."

"Yeah," the youngest Digidestined nodded."It was incredible.One minute I'm in the air and the next I'm being held by this big green insect digimon.He looked surprised to see me and I think he totally forgot about Thundermon until he attacked again."

Joe picked up another carrot and began to chew thoughtfully as T.K. picked up the story."The other digimon gave Cody to Ankylomon and went after Thundermon."He paused as though unsure of how to continue.

Yolei looked down at her lap.Her voice was soft and filled with pain."He destroyed him."

Joe choked."What?"

Yolei looked up, eyes filled with pain and rage."The other digimon destroyed Thundermon."

"I've got it!" Izzy declared triumphantly.

Kari looked to where her friend sat with his laptop open."Got what, Izzy?"

"The digimon."

"Ummm . . ."

Izzy didn't even look up."Yolei, do you remember the attack that the other digimon used?"

The lavender-haired girl closed her eyes in something close to pain."I don't think I'll ever forget that as long as I live.The poor digimon . . . The other digimon said 'Spiking Strike.' "

"Just as I thought!"

Tai made a face."Just what are you talking about, Izzy?"

"This."The computer genius turned his laptop around so that they could see the picture on the screen.The image was that of a tall digimon standing upright with dragonfly wings on its back and orange-red hair.It appeared to be wearing forest-green body armor.

Cody's eyes narrowed."That's the one all right." 

"Hmm."Izzy turned the laptop back around and scanned the screen, frowning."After T.K. told me this story over the phone, I decided to find out who we were dealing with so we could tell the other digimon who to look out for.This guy's name is Stingmon and he is one of the more dangerous champion level insect digimon.It seems that both Stingmon and Wormmon are rather rare insect digimon and are hardly ever seen, so there's not a lot of information.They're famous for their loyalty and they're very territorial.But, unlike a lot of other virus digimon, they're relatively passive and shy.They're not really dangerous unless they feel that someone they care for or their territory is threatened.However, if that happens, they're extremely unpredictable and once they've seen an enemy they never forget what he looks like or his scent."

"Perfect!"Sora threw her hands up into the air."So now what happens?"

Davis leaned back and propped himself up with his hands."Look guys, it's not a problem!Ken's one of the good guys now; we can trust him."

Yolei shook her head and her hair flew into her face."How can you say that?He ruthlessly ordered Stingmon to destroy a digimon, but you still wanna be buddies with him!Some people are just plain evil, Davis, and Ken is obviously one of them!I thought he changed after Wormmon was destroyed, too, but he hasn't.If he did then he never would have destroyed Thundermon.Give it up already."

"I'm not so sure, Yolei."

"What?!"

Everyone turned to look at T.K. in shock.Gatomon frowned."What do you mean you're not so sure?"

T.K. closed his eyes and looked down as the others regarded him with interest."Anyone can change, Gatomon.You of all people should know that.Besides, just look at his pattern.Ken's not stupid.Everything he has done in both the real and digital world has had a purpose; he's not the kind of person who wastes time or energy doing something he sees as pointless or unnecessary.True, he destroyed Thundermon, but he also saved Cody's life, and that's something the Digimon Emperor would never have done.Anyway, if he was still the Digimon Emperor,he could easily have destroyed us all while we were standing there with our mouths hanging open.Plus, he was dressed the same way he had been after we defeated him, not like the Emperor.He wasn't even wearing those stupid glasses."He looked up." Look, I'm not saying that we should trust him right away, or even welcome him with open arms, but I really don't think he's evil anymore either.Losing your digimon partner is hard and it's something that changes you forever.It's like losing a part of your soul.You never forget what happened no matter what you do afterwards.It's one of the most horrible things that could happen to anyone ever and no one can walk away from that without a few scars and some major prioritizing." 

Patamon looked up at T.K. and put a paw on his human's leg.The Keeper of Hope smiled and pulled his digimon up into a hug.The older kids looked away uncomfortably.

Releasing his hold on Upomon, Cody watched T.K. and Patamon for a moment and narrowed his eyes."You sound like you speak from experience."

T.K.'s expression hardened."The first time Patamon digivolved to Angemon, he fought against Devimon and sacrificed his life to save me.We didn't know a whole lot back then and I thought that I had lost him forever."

Patamon smiled up at T.K..He knew how much that had hurt T.K. and how hard it was for him to talk about that time."But here I am, T.K., and I'm not leaving anytime soon!"

T.K. smiled.

"I'm sorry, T.K.."Cody looked contrite."If anything ever happened to Armadillomon, I'd be lost.I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"You didn't.Besides, that was all a long time ago."

"You see," interrupted Davis."I told you so!His crest turned into a Golden Digi Egg, and I know that he has Kindness for a reason.We've just got to give him a chance!"

"I don't know, Davis.People don't just change overnight."Cody shook his head."I still don't think that it's a good idea to ask him to join us."He sighed and then looked around with a slight frown."Where's Upomon?"

Demiveemon waved a flipper towards the pond that lay a small distance away."I think he went that way," the little blue creature directed from his perch on Davis's head.

"Whatever you guys decide is fine with me.I'm going to go find Upomon before he finds another mud puddle."The slight youngster stood without waiting for a response and walked away, heading in the direction towards which his digimon was last seen bouncing. 

Davis sighed in irritation, but Mimi cut him off."Why don't we all just talk to Ken?"

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

She glared back at them."Well, if he's the center of the argument, why don't you ask him?I'm sure he knows more about what's going on than anyone else here.Besides, he's a genius and we could really use the help."

Yolei stared for a moment. "You're not serious, are you, Mimi?"

"Yes, I am!"

"But--"

"No buts!This isn't the first time that we've dealt with this sort of thing.We had trouble with Matt and look at how Gatomon's turned herself around.It's not really fair of us to judge him without all the facts.Talk to him!He's the only one who can answer your questions."

"But, Mimi," Yolei protested, "he could just be lying to us!He's been manipulating half of Japan for who knows how long and--"

"Didn't you learn anything from Digi Tomamon?Sometimes you just have to give people a benefit of the doubt!"

Tai nodded his head."Mimi's right; we're the good guys, we should at least give him a fair chance to explain himself."

Davis made no attempt to hide his enthusiasm."Yes!"

Kari smiled and nodded."Well, I'm glad that that's settled.Now we just need to talk to Ken."

"Talk to me about what?"

They all turned, amazed to find Ken Ichijouji looking down at the collective Digidestined expressionlessly, his sapphire eyes glittering coldly in the afternoon sunlight.

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	3. Ask and Ye Shall Receive

For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

** **

**__________________________________________________________**

Disclaimer:I don't own Digimon.I am not that fortunate.Digimon is owned by Fox Kids, Saban (I think), and a bunch of now-wealthy Japanese people. 

Lucky bastards.Moreover, I am American.I take French. 

If you want to know French words, names, and spellings, e-mail me.Do not ask me for Japanese.

I love Asian culture, but I can't spell anything Asian worth a damn.

Hell, I can't spell anything in English worth a damn.

If I have mauled Japanese names (particularly for places and digimon), 

PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND E-MAIL ME CORRECTIONS.

Also, this is one of the reasons why I use the American names

(despite the fact that I prefer the names Osamu, Iori, and Yamato over the English).

Please don't sue me or steal from me; I'm poor and a real bitch when it comes to my work.

Feedback is a rose in December--novel, beautiful, and always welcome.

ENJOY THE FIC. 

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

** **

**_~ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, _**

**_and there are few who find it._****__**

**-Matthew 7:14**

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Part Two 

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Ken Ichijouji entered the park with his head bowed and a deep frown creasing his brow.This had not been a good idea.He held a shoebox in his right arm close to his body.There were circular holes cut into all four sides of the box and perforating the lid that was placed firmly on top.His school case was in his left hand, heavy with homework and various papers and reminders of things that needed to be finished before he left.In his pocket his D-3 beeped intermittently.

He sighed heavily._This is not a wise decision.I should go back.Perhaps I can cancel or make other arrangements . . ._

But there were no other arrangements to be made, and his appearance was expected at the camp.

_But what if he says no?_

His frown turned into a dark scowl and he made a concerted effort to show no emotion._Then he says no, dummy, and you move on.End of story._

"Ken?" a small voice emerged from the darkened interior of the box, "Are you all right?"

_No._"I'm fine, my friend."

"We don't have to do this, you know.I'm sure there's someone else who'll--"

Despite the fact that the voice's owner couldn't see the motion, Ken shook his head, indigo hair swinging."No, there's not, and we both know it.Unless you want to ask another one of _them_, of course."

The box was silent for a moment before responding."I could come with you, Ken."

"We've discussed this already, Minomon, and we both know that it's too dangerous."

A wry snort escaped from the box."Math camp does sound rather exciting."

Ken gritted his teeth and Minomon was still, fearing that he had pushed his already tense human too far.When Ken spoke again it was with quiet, if strained, patience."We've been through this, my friend, and my answer is still the same.Besides, it will do you good to be around other digimon for a little while."

The box was again silent and Ken knew that Minomon was sulking.He came close to smiling (or rather, as close to it as he ever came these days) at the thought of his digimon's expression and absently wondered how it was that Leafmon, Minomon, and Wormmon could all convey the impression that they were pouting given the mouths that they had.Stingmon never gave Ken that impression, but, then again, Stingmon was not the type of digimon that pouted, either.

Ken's digivice beeped again and he glanced about the park, anxiety well hidden behind the flat expression in his blue eyes.He spotted them after a moment and set down his school stuff.Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his D-3 and studied the small screen for a moment.Wonderful.They were all over there, even the ones who weren't around much.

The frown resurfaced, briefly marring Ken's china doll features before vanishing once more beneath his smooth mask of condescending apathy.There simply had to be some digi-god or spirit out there that passionately hated him.The last thing the boy genius had wanted was for this to turn into some sort of production, particularly after what had happened in Primary Village earlier that week.The Digidestined were sure to have numerous questions for him, and Ken had numerous reasons for keeping silent.He also had no intention of sharing his reasons with them.

But there they all were, with Davis right in the center, one happy family unit.It was all so sweet that it practically gave Ken a toothache to watch.Secretly, however, the sight simply made him feel even more tired and alone than ever, and he buried the feelings deep within himself for later.Now was hardly the time or place to have and emotional breakdown.He could read the headlines now: _Boy Genius Has Nervous Breakdown at Sight of Picnics_.Ha!If only they knew . . .

Ken Ichijouji was a mess of contradiction and misinterpretations.In all appearances he seemed perfect.He was a certified genius.He was calm.He was sweet.He was polite and obedient.He was a star soccer player, tutored, and taught seminars at the community college.He was every parent, teacher, and coach's dream.Or so he seemed.

The reality of his situation couldn't be further away from was he once described to Wormmon as his "camera face," the plastic smile that adorned his face when he wasn't alone.When he was alone, though, one look in his eyes could totally convince anyone that "Camera Ken" was merely a front, and a poor one at that.

There was an incredible darkness in Ken and it had been there for as long as he could remember--even before Sam had died.It had been his constant companion as he grew, slowly burrowing deeper and deeper into his soul, slowly taking control of him.He had never made friends easily as a child.In fact, he had never made friends at all.He saw things, heard things, things that normal people didn't.Voices talked to him and whenever he was on the computer by himself he saw little creatures on the screen that other people didn't.Ken had always been slightly different from other people and was shunned because of it.

The only person who had ever understood had been Sam.

_"You're special, Kenny Boy,"_ Sam had told him._"You have so much in you to give to the world; don't ever forget that."_

But one day Sam was gone and Ken did forget.He listened to the voices and the darkness swallowed him up.He fell so far into himself that by the time he realized he was drowning he didn't even want to save himself.It was all simply too hard, and he was just too tired.

But he had to save himself.He needed to find his heart for Sam and Wormmon, and himself, as well.He had to know if he was truly lost forever.It was all kind of funny, though.He had found his heart.He found Wormmon in the bargain, but he couldn't find peace or salvation.He was beginning to wonder if he ever would again.

It was like the bubbles he had blown as a child: perfect and beautifully iridescent on the outside, but totally black within.Hollow--just like him.He didn't blow bubbles anymore.

"Ken?" Minomon startled him out of his reverie."Ken?Are you still there?"

The boy blinked rapidly several times and looked down at his left hand, surprised to feel a dull ache creeping up his arm.His fingers were wrapped so tightly around his black digivice that the knuckles were white and his hand shook. He let out a hiss of breathe as his eyes flicked to the time.He was going to be late.

"Ready, Minomon?" he asked the box.

"I'm okay, Ken."

Tossing his head to the side to rid his eyes of the indigo hair that was constantly in his way, Ken returned the digivice to his pocket, picked up his bag, and began moving towards the Digidestined with a feigned resolution and confident grace.

As he came closer he heard his name and quickened his pace to reach them.He arrived just in time to see Kari smile and nod at the one called Tai.

Her voice was a soft chirp."Well, I'm glad that that's settled.Now we just need to talk to Ken."

_Speak of the devil . . ._ Firmly setting his face into his coldest, most aloof expression, Ken set his bag on the ground and stepped forward, suddenly painfully conscious of the box he carried."Talk to me about what?"

His eyes captured them all, devouring them and memorizing every visible detail for later review.They were all stunned to see him.It looked as though they had just reached the end of a debate-- apparently one concerning him.His pupils dilated slightly as he filed that bit of knowledge away for further use.

His gaze flickered in acknowledgment to Tai and Izzy, dismissed the others coolly, and turned to focus itself with eerie intensity on Davis.

In response to this pressure the other boy bounced to his feet and a stupid-looking, clumsy grin spread across his features.His voice seemed to hold genuine delight."Well, speak of the devil!We were just talking about you, Ken!How are you, man?"

Ken cocked his head to the side, surprised to hear an echo of his previous thought emerge from this boy's mouth.Perhaps this could work out after all . . .

He dipped his head in both greeting and response to Davis' question before looking the other soccer player over again critically.He had to be certain Davis could be trusted.The object of his examination appeared to be oblivious to the fact that he was being studied so thoroughly.

He checked the urge to shake his head in frustration.What was the point in being so suspicious now?He was the one they wanted dead, not Minomon.Old habits died hard.Besides, what choice did he have?There was really no one else he could risk trusting. 

With a soft exhalation that was close to a sigh, Ken brought the box in his right hand directly in front of him, holding it so that it was between him and Davis.His sapphire eyes bored into Davis's brown ones intensely as he spoke."I'm sorry that this is so abrupt, but there was nowhere else I could go.There's . . . I need you to do something for me, Davis.There's no one else I could ask."

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	4. Issues of Trust, Issues of Doubt

For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

** **

**__________________________________________________________**

Disclaimer:I don't own Digimon.I am not that fortunate.Digimon is owned by Fox Kids, Saban (I think), and a bunch of now-wealthy Japanese people. 

Lucky bastards.Moreover, I am American.I take French. 

If you want to know French words, names, and spellings, e-mail me.Do not ask me for Japanese.

I love Asian culture, but I can't spell anything Asian worth a damn.

Hell, I can't spell anything in English worth a damn.

If I have mauled Japanese names (particularly for places and digimon), 

PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND E-MAIL ME CORRECTIONS.

Also, this is one of the reasons why I use the American names

(despite the fact that I prefer the names Osamu, Iori, and Yamato over the English).

Please don't sue me or steal from me; I'm poor and a real bitch when it comes to my work.

Feedback is a rose in December--novel, beautiful, and always welcome.

ENJOY THE FIC. 

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

** **

**_~Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find it; _**

**_knock, and it will be opened to you._**

**-Matthew 7:7**

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Part Three 

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Yolei's eyes narrowed as she heard Ken's words and she flicked her gaze to the box he held between himself and Davis._What are you up to now, Ichijouji?_

Davis was the only one who didn't look upset."Sure!" he exclaimed enthusiastically."What do you need?"

Ken cocked his head to the side again, eyes unfathomable behind his dark hair.He continued his study of an unperturbed Davis for several seconds until the silence just bordered on uncomfortable.When he spoke his sentences were abrupt and to the point."I have to go away for a few days.My parents signed me up to tutor at some camp and I wanted to know if you would--"

"YOU!"

Ken's head snapped away from Davis to focus on an angry boy just a few years younger than he was._Cody_, his brain supplied helpfully.In his arms Cody held what looked like a muddy ball with enormous ears and eyes._That must be his digimon._

The digimon, a very muddy Upomon, took advantage of Ken's momentary surprise and leapt out of Cody's arms, hurling himself towards the former Digimon Emperor with a furious shout."GO AWAY!"

Someone yelled, "Upomon, stop!" and Ken took a step back, knowing that he couldn't avoid the digi-projectile without falling on his butt and very annoyed at the thought of having to return home to change his clothing.

Fate, however, had other ideas.

As Ken stepped back away from him, Davis saw the top of the box Ken held explode and something small, green, and just as angry as Upomon, fly past in a blur.

Ken, who was obviously two steps ahead of the goggle-wearing soccer player, reached forward after the green thing and yelled out "Stop!" as Upomon collided with the angered projectile.Upomon yelped in pain and the pair hit the ground with a grunt, rolling in separate directions. 

Cody rushed forward and dropped to his knees."Upomon, are you all right?"

"I'm all right Cody, just a little bruised."

The Keeper of Knowledge and Responsibility turned burning emerald eyes to Ken and opened his mouth to yell at him but stopped when he saw what had hit Upomon.

Bouncing up and down in front of Ken with little green flippers extended protectively was an in-training digimon.A very pissed off in-training digimon.He was about a foot tall with a long brown twig of some sort sprouting from his head and his lower body entirely hidden in a spiky-looking cocoon of the same shade.His funny bud-like mouth opened vertically in the center as he glared back at Cody and Upomon."You better leave Ken alone!" he declared fiercely.

Cody speechless stared at the creature for a moment and then reached a conclusion."You're Wormmon!"

"What?" asked Matt who, along with the others, had risen to his feet sometime during all the excitement."Who are you?"

Ken heaved a sigh that seemed to come form the depths of earth and reached out to gently catch his digimon partner in his hands."Calm down," he told him."Fighting is not going to accomplish anything."

Yolei cast a piercing look at Ken as he spoke, her glasses catching the sunlight in a bright flash.His voice had sounded different than she had ever heard it before.He hadn't sounded angry or imperious, just . . . tired.Ken sounded unbelievable tired and worn.She had never heard a voice like that come out of a kid her age and the lavender-haired girl felt a small doubt blossom in her soul._Am I wrong about you, Ken?Am I making a mistake?_She squeezed her eyes shut to banish the irksome questions._What are you hiding from us?We would help you if you would just let us! _

Gently tucking his digimon in one arm, Ken used his free hand to tuck back several strands of unruly hair."I didn't want things to go this way," he began in a tone of regret, "but I don't really have the time to try and do this right."He turned his attention to Davis, speaking solely to him."This is Minomon; he's the in-training digivolution of Wormmon.I have to go away to camp for a week and I can't take him with me.I can't leave him at home either because there is no one there to take care of him.I need to know, Davis: will you take care of him while I'm gone?" 

Davis stared at him a moment, uncomprehending.Ken felt a sense a dread well up in the pit of his stomach.They were going to laugh at him now.They might even gang up on him.This had been a bad idea.What right did he, the Digimon Emperor--albeit, FORMER Digimon Emperor-- have to ask for favors from the very people who had planned and orchestrated his downfall?Right after one of their digimon had just attacked him, nonetheless.Ken's free hand knotted into a fist.He never should have come.He never should have let himself think that they could--

"Okay."

Ken blinked."Okay?"

Davis reached up and unnecessarily adjusted his goggles, grinning broadly."Well, yeah, dude!We're friends now, and that's what friends do for each other.I'd love to spend some time with Minniemon- that is, if it's all right with him."The leader of the new Digidestined looked at the digimon Ken held and opened his arms, "Well, little fellow, what do you say?"

The little green digimon looked up at his partner triumphantly."I told you he'd do it!"Somehow smiling, he wiggled out of Ken's grasp and leapt into Davis's arms.He waved his arms happily."Sure!This was my idea!Ken thought that you'd say no, but I told him it would be okay!Just one thing, though: my name is MINOmon, not Minniemon."

Davis returned his smile."Sorry, Minomon."

Satisfied, Minomon twisted out of Davis's arm and leapt back into Ken's.The pale genius was regarding them both with wide eyes, completely unguarded for just the briefest instant.He had never seen Minomon so . . . outgoing before.Normally his digimon was very placid and sedate and, despite the little twinge of jealousy he felt at seeing Minomon with another, he was also strangely pleased to see him so happy.

Suddenly aware that he had to be staring like an absolute fool, Ken forced down a blush and allowed his expression to close in on itself."Thank you," he told Davis sincerely."He's very good and really helpful, too.I promise that he won't be any trouble."

"Pfft!" Davis stopped him with a wave of his hand."Don't worry so much; he'll be fine.He can play with Demiveemon here," he offered, indicating his own in-training partner at his side.

Minomon's eyes followed his gesture to where Demiveemon sat looking at him curiously.

"Hi," said the blue digimon while waving one flipper.

"Hello," Minomon greeted, waving back.

Ken set Minomon down gently and looked back at Davis.He opened his mouth to speak, but his digivice beeped noisily in his pocket.He removed the offending object and looked down at the time."Oh, shit.I have to go.My ride is probably looking for me."He returned his gaze to Davis."Thank you for doing this.It seems I am in your debt yet again, Davis."

"No sweat, man.That's what friends are for."

Ken tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.He didn't look convinced."Right . . .Just make sure that he doesn't eat any chocolate and that you take him to the Digital World if he starts to get lethargic.You'll e-mail my D-3 if there's a problem?"

"Don't worry about it.I can handle this," Davis assured him."I'm a real pro!"

"If you're certain it's no bother . . .Minomon," he turned to his digimon who was deep in conversation with Demiveemon, "I must go now.Be good and DO NOT eat any chocolate, understand?"

His partner nodded a bit sadly."I won't." He jumped up, embracing Ken."Bye, Ken; have fun."

Ken put down Minomon and the shoebox and picked up his case.

"Wait, Ken!"Kari stepped forward."We've gotta talk."

Ken frowned slightly."I'll tell you what: meet me in the digital world at Primary Village in five days around 3:00.I'll pick up Wormmon there and you can say what you need to, all right?"

The Child of Light frowned."Okay.Primary Village it is."

Ken turned away and Kari called after him."Have fun."

He paused at looked back, uncertain whether or not she was serious.He regarded her coolly for a moment and then bowed slightly.". . . Thank you."

Davis waved."Bye, Ken!"

"Don't forget, Davis," the other boy warned, "absolutely no chocolate.It's very important--"

"You worry too much!Your digimon will be fine!"

Ken cast a doubtful glance at Minomon who was happily romping with Demiveemon.His digivice beeped again."Primary Village," he said, turning to go.

Davis watched Ken's back as he disappeared from view and felt a deep satisfaction._I knew you'd come around sooner or later, Ken._He turned back to the others in triumph."You see!I told you he's changed!"

"I don't know, Davis," said Cody pessimistically."How can you be so certain?"

Davis slouched and released an exasperated sigh."You are such a downer sometimes, Cody.Cut the guy some slack will ya?He's been through a lot lately."

"But I just don't think he can be trusted.People can't change overnight and if you weren't falling all over yourself over him, you'd see it too!What about you Yolei?"

The tall girl shook her head, looking down."I think you might be right.Can we risk it?Can we really risk just letting the Digimon Emperor run free?"

"Hey!" yelled Davis angry.

"Uh-oh," Demiveemon whispered to Minomon."Now it's really gonna hit the fan."

Minomon's eyes widened."What is?"

The other digimon's response was lost beneath the thunder of Davis's words."Get it through your head, Yolei: HE'S NOT THE EMPEROR ANYMORE!!What do you think we'd do with him anyway?Have him arrested?For what?Trying to take over a world that nobody else knows is real?Yeah, the cops will love that!"

"Well," interrupted Tai cheerily, "You know what I think?"

The arguing Digidestined looked at him in confusion.

"I think can take you both on the soccer field!"

"Yeah, right!" Davis laughed."You gotta be dreaming!You can't even handle me!"

"Is that a challenge, goggle-boy?"

"Who you callin' goggle-boy, goggle-boy?"

"That's goggle-man to you," declared Tai, lunging towards the younger Digidestined.The two went down in a laughing heap.

Minomon watched with large eyes."Are they always like this?" he asked Davis's partner.

"Yep," Demiveemon asserted with nod and an air of wisdom."This is pretty normal human behavior."

"Oh."Minomon studied them for a few more seconds before turning back to his new friend."I'm glad Ken isn't normal then; it looks dangerous, all that yelling and fighting.He could really get hurt."

Kari looked down at the two digimon, listening intently.She smiled sadly at Minomon's last words._I wish things were that simple, little one._

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	5. A Grand Joke--Ha!

For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

** **

**__________________________________________________________**

Disclaimer:I don't own Digimon.I am not that fortunate.Digimon is owned by Fox Kids, Saban (I think), and a bunch of now-wealthy Japanese people. 

Lucky bastards.Moreover, I am American.I take French. 

If you want to know French words, names, and spellings, e-mail me.Do not ask me for Japanese.

I love Asian culture, but I can't spell anything Asian worth a damn.

Hell, I can't spell anything in English worth a damn.

If I have mauled Japanese names (particularly for places and digimon), 

PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND E-MAIL ME CORRECTIONS.

Also, this is one of the reasons why I use the American names

(despite the fact that I prefer the names Osamu, Iori, and Yamato over the English).

Please don't sue me or steal from me; I'm poor and a real bitch when it comes to my work.

Feedback is a rose in December--novel, beautiful, and always welcome.

ENJOY THE FIC. 

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**_~Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect._**

**-Matthew 5: 48**

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Part Four 

Math Can Camp-- Four Days Later:

"I don't understand, Ken-san.How did you get that answer?"

Ken looked impassively at the girl he was tutoring for a moment.Half of him wanted to tell the young lady the answer and the other half was wishing that he had had the presence of mind to bring his whip.Currently the latter half was winning.He slowly closed his eyes and opened them again.Maybe if he were lucky the entire camp would vanish by the time they were fully open and he would no longer be forced to endure these people.

He wasn't lucky.

_There is a hell and I am there._

He looked at the girl in front of him and released a long, slow sigh."Now, I will explain this one last time, Miyoko, so listen.There are 360 degrees in a circle.These degrees can be measured in minutes and seconds.There are 60 minutes in a circle.There are 60 seconds in a minute.Thus, there are 360 seconds in a circle. Therefore one degree equals . . .?"

He waited.She stared.He sighed.She stared. He closed his eyes in pain.

_Oh, God, why did I leave my whip in my cabin?_ he asked himself.

His conscience answered for him._Because if you had it, you would have strangled her with it by now._

He told his conscience to shut up and mind its own business. 

"One second!!"

He opened his eyes to see the girl beaming in joy._Simpleton._

_ _

"Very good."He smiled, knowing that it would brighten her paltry existence."Now how many degrees are there in one minute?"

He waited.She stared.He waited longer.She stared.He surpressed an urge to pick up the math book and bludgeon her to death with it.She stared.

_Why me?_

"That's enough for tonight, class.A light evening snack will be in the main hall in fifteen minutes."

He exhaled in relief.

As the class shuffled around getting their things, Ken offered Miyoko another smile."Keep working; you're starting to get the hang of it!"She glowed at the praise.Sometimes he was so smooth that he even made himself nauseous.

He slipped out of the room as soon as he could._Teaching trigonometry to idiots_, he thought._How degrading_.

He walked back to his cabin, staring at the stars as he went.In the digital world, there were billions upon billions of stars, more than even his fantastic mind could calculate.But here there were only half that many, rural and unpopulated as this place was supposed to be.It was all such a joke.Some sick twisted joke of which he got the terrible feeling he was the punchline.And there were few things Ken Ichijouji hated more than being laughed at.

_Ahh, well.I suppose it's better than therapy_.

That had of course been the ultimatum he received last week.Go to therapy and get your head together or go to Math Camp and help those "less fortunate" than yourself.He thought his parents were going to pop a vein when he (after seemingly careful deliberation, of course) chose camp.That's what you get when you try to play mind games with a genius. 

They had really hoped that he would choose therapy because they knew that their son was not exactly . . . tolerant of those less gifted than himself.He had thought he was so smart, playing their little games and getting away from his overprotective mother at the same time, but now he was wondering which one of them had actually won.

Away from Wormmon and the distractions of school, soccer, and destroying control spires and evil digimon, the Emperor side of his personality was becoming much more aggressive, to the point of where he actually had to stop himself from hurting other people._Way to help out, Mom._They would probably figure out some way to make him go to therapy, anyway.

Not for the first time he felt a bitter stab of envy towards Sam.Dying had to be so much easier than life.Even when his brother was dead and gone, Ken still had to play catch up.Yeah, his life definitely had to be a joke.If he were someone else he'd be laughing his ass off right about now.

_Now that's a healthy thought._He snorted, choking back dark laughter._Maybe I should see a shrink . . ._

He bit back another laugh as he pictured the first session._"Yeah, doc, you see, after Osamu, my brother, died a few years back, I got this funny e-mail saying that I had to live both his life and mine.So I devoted all my time to school, which was okay because no one likes me anyway because I hear voices in my head, and tried to become a genius so that my parents could use me to get publicity because that would make them love me.Anyway, after I killed Sam--did I mention that?Well, one day I wished he would disappear and: BAM!He did--so it's my fault.Anyway, back to what I was saying, after I killed Sam, took over his identity, and became famous, the voices in my head started telling me to do things and I decided that I had to conquer the Digital World.Don't ask me why; it just seemed like a good idea at the time.You say you've never heard of the Digital World?That's not surprising.It's a secret world inside computers were a bunch of intelligent, highly advanced, talking monsters live.Well, I decide to take it over 'cause I'm so smart, but these other kids, called the Digidestined, wanted to stop me because they're the good guys and I was obviously evil.In between maiming, torturing, destroying, and corrupting thousand of innocent creatures, I threw a couple of rounds with the Digidestined and some added in a little unparalleled destruction, just for variety of course.But in the end, the damned do-gooders vaporized my caterpillar and blew up the Frankenstien monster I built.That kinda drove me over the edge, but I went into a vegetative state and went looking for my heart while I was comatose.I didn't find it, but my caterpillar came back and forgave me for being Hitler, plus the Digidestined aren't trying to kill me anymore.Other than the occasional urge to beat the hell out of people for no other reason than that they're breathing my air and arguments with the voices in my head, things are going great!What do you think?"_

_ _

Oh, yeah; he should definitely see that shrink.He chuckled softly in the darkness and opened the door to his cabin, smirking.The other people in the cabin looked up when he entered but looked away just as quickly.They never spoke to him, they just tried to do what most sensible people did when Ken Ichijouji entered a room: not make eye contact and avoid all sudden movements.He smiled darkly.They were all fools, the whole lot of them.No matter, though.

Abruptly the smile vanished.Ken mentally cursed himself.Contempt-- that was the Emperor's way of thinking.He was not the Emperor.At least, not anymore.He was just Ken now, and Ken had to be Kind.Ken had to be Gentle.Ken could not take pleasure in the discomfort of others.Ken had to be Compassionate.Damn Ken.

He swung himself up onto the top bunk and lay back, looking at the ceiling._Mine is not to reason why . . ._" 'Ours is but to do or die,' " he finished the quote aloud.

He closed his eyes and thought of Wormmon._I hope you're well, my friend.I hope Davis is taking good care of you and treating right.He hasn't e-mailed me at all . . ._ The pride of Tamachi sighed, suddenly melancholy as he felt a keen pang of loneliness in his crowded cabin._I'll see you tomorrow in Primary Village Wormmon.Then I'll have the answers to my questions . . . And so will everybody else . . ._

_ _

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	6. One of *Those* Days . . .

For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

** **

**__________________________________________________________**

Disclaimer:I don't own Digimon.I am not that fortunate.Digimon is owned by Fox Kids, Saban (I think), and a bunch of now-wealthy Japanese people. 

Lucky bastards.Moreover, I am American.I take French. 

If you want to know French words, names, and spellings, e-mail me.Do not ask me for Japanese.

I love Asian culture, but I can't spell anything Asian worth a damn.

Hell, I can't spell anything in English worth a damn.

If I have mauled Japanese names (particularly for places and digimon), 

PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND E-MAIL ME CORRECTIONS.

Also, this is one of the reasons why I use the American names

(despite the fact that I prefer the names Osamu, Iori, and Yamato over the English).

Please don't sue me or steal from me; I'm poor and a real bitch when it comes to my work.

Feedback is a rose in December--novel, beautiful, and always welcome.

ENJOY THE FIC. 

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

** **

**_~"I have sinned by betraying innocent blood."_**

**_And they said, "What is that to us?You see to it!"_**

**-Matthew 27: 4**

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Part Five 

_I knew I shouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning!_

Ever since he had woken up it was one thing after the next.First Minomon and Demiveemon played hide and seek with his last pair of clean underwear, next Jun had been in the bathroom for forty-five minutes out of the hour he was awake.Then, he found out that he had cafeteria duty-- again-- but this time without Kari, and he _accidentally_ broke a window-- again-- with a soccer ball.All in all the day was pretty shitty, and now, to make matters worse, Davis was late.

He was almost always late for something, but today was a special day and he refused to be late.His footstep echoed through the emptying hallways as he ran.It was very difficult to run without jostling his backpack, but he carried a special load and decided to make safe guarding the two crowded digimon his priority over speed.He was convinced that Ken would do something terrible to him if something happened to his partner. 

The soccer star (in his mind, at least) skidded to a halt four feet in front of the computer lab door and his momentum carried him another two feet past it.T.K. looked up from his position behind Kari as the self-proclaimed leader of the Digidestined staggered into the room panting.

The blond smiled at his sweaty friend."Congratulations, Davis.You're only ten minutes late.I think that's a record for you."

"Hey, be nice, T.K.," Matt chided his little brother."Can't you see the guy's beat?"

T.K. rolled his eyes but remained silent.

Davis glared."Yeah, you could be just a little more sensitive, T.O."The be-goggled boy turned to Matt."I didn't know you were coming.Don't you have practice or something?"

His response was a shrug."I moved it to tomorrow, after all, it's not everyday that you get a personal interview with the great Ken Ichijouji."

Davis scowled.

"Ken?" squealed a little voice from Davis's book bag.There was the sound of a zipper coming undone and Minomon leapt out of the bag."Where's Ken?"

The in-training digimon looked around the room eagerly for a moment, more energetic than Davis had seen him in days.His large eyes took in Davis, Matt, T.K., Kari, Yolei, Cody, and Izzy, but no Ken."Ohhh."His twig drooped and the little green creature slumped into his cocoon.

Davis smiled gently and lifted him up."Hey, don't sweat it, little guy.You'll see him soon."

"Yeah!"Demiveemon's fuzzy blue head appeared out of the top of Davis's bag."Besides, you can always just spend the time playing with me."Suddenly he stopped, lifted his head slightly, and sniffed the air."I smell . . . CANDY!!Ooh!I want some!"The digimon leapt out of the bag and waddled to the door as Sora and Tai walked in carrying two shopping bags.

"Hey!" Tai yelled, stepping backwards as a blue and white ball of fuzz assaulted his leg."Chill out, Demiveemon!This is for everybody."

Sora laughed and went to stand next to Matt."Knock it off, you two.Hey guys."

Davis blinked in confusion."I didn't know that everybody was coming."

Tai freed himself and walked over to where the others stood around the computer."They're not.Mimi can't come and Joe has a test."

"So this is it?"

"So it would seem," replied Tai."How have you been doing, Davis?We've barely seen you since last week."

"Oh, I'm okay, I guess."The boy reached back and scratched his head with one hand."I'm a little bit worried about Minomon, though.He's been real sleepy lately and hasn't been eating as much.I've taken him to the Digital World with me every time we went, but he still seems really worn out."

"Can I see him?" asked Izzy, extending his hands.

Davis nodded and Izzy gently lifted up the downcast Minomon and inspected him."He looks all right to me."

"I'm fine," said Minomon, "I've just never been separated from Ken for so long in your world.I miss him, that's all."

The computer genius smiled."Well you'll be back with him again soon.Is everyone here?"

There were nods and Kari turned towards the computer grinning."Good; then, DIGIPORT OPEN!"

Primary Village:

The Digidestined walked into Primary Village cautiously.It somehow seemed out of place to be meeting a former evil genius amongst giant rubber blocks and smushy pastel mounds, but perhaps that was why Ken had chosen this place.They all reached the digi-egg field and looked around.There was no sign of Ken.

Cody frowned in worry."So where is he?It's 3:10."

Davis sat down and stretched."He'll be here," he said confidently. 

"Hey, Matt!Matt!"

"Huh?"The older Ishida turned towards the sound of the voice in confusion.His eyes narrowed and he raised his hand to block the sun as four familiar figures appeared over the horizon.He laughed and waved."Gabumon!Look everybody, it's Biyomon, Augumon, Tentomon, and Gabumon."

Tai waved."Agumon!Hi!"

"Biyomon!Come here!"

Izzy waved and smiled, waiting in silence.

"Tai!" cried Agumon.The little orange dragon ran as fast as he could towards group, the other digimon close behind him."Tai!" He leapt into his human's arms."Oh, I've really missed you!"

"Matt!"

"Hey, Gabumon!How have you been?"

"Hi, Sora!"

"Oh, Biyo!I really got to start coming here more often."

Tentomon settled next to his human calmly."Good afternoon, Izzy."

The teenager smiled."Good afternoon, Tentomon."

"We didn't know you guys were going to be here," said Agumon, freeing himself from Tai's embrace."Is that candy I smell?"

"Yes we are and yes it is," Tai laughed.

Agumon sniffed the air, trying to locate the candy.He stopped and looked over at Tai."We sure are glad you're here, though."

"How come?"

"You'll never believe who we saw coming here!"

"Hey," interrupted Gabumon, "it's Wormmon."

The virus digimon in Davis's lap started and curled up defensively in a tight ball, his eyes nervously tracking the new digimon.

"What _you_ are doing here?" demanded Biyomon in anger."It figures: one worm is sure to follow the other."

"We saw the Digimon Emperor coming here!" reported Agumon earnestly.

Wormmon uncoiled, eyes shining joyously."Ken?"

Gabumon eyed him with hostility and then turned to Matt."He wasn't dressed the same and he had a briefcase with him, but we'd know that scent anywhere."

"We really had to fly to beat him here," interjected Biyomon."You wouldn't believe how fast he walks!"

"My hearing is pretty good, too.Sorry I'm late."

"Ken-chan!!!!"In a sudden burst of energy, Wormmon leapt out of Davis's arms, took two tremendous bounds forward, jumped onto a startled Gabumon's head, and, using the other digimon as leverage, flung himself at Ken.

Ken smiled at his partner's enthusiasm and put down his briefcase.He stood just in time to catch Wormmon in his arms.

"Ken!I missed you so much!Did you have fun at camp?Did you meet any new people?Did you bring me anything?"

Ken smiled then, really smiled, and for a split second the Digidestined understood why he bore the Crest of Kindness.The smile stared out small and grew as Wormmon's words continued until it touched his eyes, illuminating his entire face a soft, gentle glow.His eyes, usually hard gems, smoothed out until they were calm as the ocean and the rough edges and contours of his face softened.The Digidestined stared.So this was the person who Wormmon loved so much.

Ken looked down at the caterpillar in his embrace."I missed you as well, my friend.To answer your questions: not really; yes, unfortunately; and only if you were good.Did you have fun with Davis?"

The little digimon shivered with pleasure at the expression in Ken's eyes."Yes."

Ken looked up to where the other Digidestined were watching the reunion with keen interest.His expression closed in automatically, the "Camera Face" slipping back into place without so much as a twitch.His eyes rested on Davis and he picked up his briefcase and approached the others, Wormmon climbing up his arm to perch possessively on his shoulder.

Ken brushed a strand of indigo hair out of his eyes."Thank you for watching him, Davis."

The other boy grinned a Davis grin."We had a blast.He did get tired these last two days, though, and he hasn't really been eating."

In response Ken sat down Indian-style across from Davis with Wormmon on his lap and opened his briefcase."He didn't have any chocolate, did he?"

The other Digidestined took the hint and all sat down in a circle with Ken slightly apart from them all.The young genius took out a brown paper bag and removed from it several slices of green apple, which he began feeding to Wormmon.The little virus type digimon devoured them with a relish.Ken ignored the other's stares.He hated being stared at, but adaptation had always been Ken's mantra, and he wasn't such a hypocrite as to completely deny everything he had lived by as Digimon Emperor.

Davis smiled again."Not a bite.Why can't he eat chocolate, anyway?"

Ken smirked."He gets . . .Well, let's just say it makes him rather hyperactive."

Wormmon looked up at Ken with doleful eyes."I wasn't that bad.. . .Was I?"

"No.You were worse."Ken offered his friend another apple slice that was devoured greedily and then looked up at Kari."I believe you had something to say to me?"

The Child of Light flushed under the intensity of those brilliant eyes."Well, umm . . ."

"Are you still a threat to the Digital World?"

Ken blinked once very slowly and turned to face Yolei Inoue.He cocked his head to the side and scrutinized her for a moment."I have no desire to harm any digimon in the Digital World."

The girl glared at him behind her large glasses."Then what exactly are you up to, Ichijouji?"

Hawkmon covered his eyes."Oh, dear.Here we go again."

"What do you mean?"

"Why have you returned to the Digital World?"

"To make restitution."He paused thoughtfully and then turned to look at each of them in turn, still feeding Wormmon as he spoke." I cannot explain or adequately apologize for my actions, nor do I hold any false pretenses about forgiveness or redemption.I am not a fool.I know that these things are not possible.However, I am compelled-- no, required-- to remedy those things that I . . . disturbed during my reign as Digimon Emperor and pay penance for what I have destroyed."He frowned slightly and then focus on Davis and Tai, who were sitting side by side.His eyes seemed to glow as he continued."Understand, I am seeking neither your blessing nor your appreciation for what I am doing, I only ask that you do not interfere.I must do what is necessary to rectify past mistakes."

Matt opened his mouth but Yolei overran him."Oh?And destroying Thundermon was 'necessary?' "

Ken didn't even blink."Yes."

Yolei paled and then turned red followed by a most interesting shade of purple.Then she was on her feet, across the circle, and towering above Ken with her hand descending in a rapid arch toward his face."You soulless bastard!"

Fast as a thought, Ken's hand snapped up and caught Yolei's in vice-like grip a half inch from his face.His expression didn't change and his voice was a quiet purr, all the more terrible for its softness."Don't mess with things you don't understand, little girl."

He turned to the others, still holding Yolei."And this is why you've called me here?"

"Yolei, cut it out!" yelled Davis as Ken released her.

Ken closed his briefcase and pushed himself to feet, gradually shifting his weight so that Wormmon could crawl up onto his shoulder."Hmph."He looked at Davis coldly."I had hoped that we could find common ground today, but I can see that such a thing is impossible at this current juncture."He turned to go.

Davis stood, a panicked expression on his face."Ken, wait!C'mon, man; you owe me!"

Ken stopped and turned, looking at the other boy from the corner of his eye in expectation.Wormmon shifted nervously on his shoulders.For once at a loss for words, Davis cast a pleading glance at Tai to intervene.Surprisingly, however, it was Matt who made the next move. The older boy stood and approached Ken who was looking at him as though questioning whether he should run or attack.

"It's hard alone." 

"Excuse me?"Ken looked at the original Bearer of Friendship in confusion.

"Doing everything by yourself.It's hard."Cerulean blue eyes met blue-violet ones and locked."Believe me, I know.It's a lot easier with other people around-- you know, friends."

Ken smiled, a twisted, painful smile, as he divined where this line of conversation was headed."I have an IQ double that of the average person my age, Ishida-san.I don't _have_ friends."

"And whose fault is that?"

Ken's smile softened, becoming sadder and a bit bittersweet."I don't know anymore.It would be nice to, though-- if only so I could have someone to blame besides myself."

Soft sadistic laughter interrupted the two."Really, Emperor, you're turning out to be rather pathetic."

"You!"Ken spun around, face twisted in rage, and the Digidestined scrambled to their feet in alarm.His eyes instantly located a figure sitting on the oversized building blocks that towered above the group."Why are you here?Why won't you let me be?!"

The woman snorted in derision and flicked her long white hair out of her face."Now why would I do a thing like that?These other humans are not nearly as delightful as you, pet."

"I am not your pet!What do you want with me?"

"And what do I get if I tell you, Ken?"The sunlight flashed off her purple glasses.

Wormmon leapt off of Ken's shoulders to land in front of his human protectively.The little pincers on his tail worked menacingly."I can think of a few things I'd like to give you."

"Who is that?" exclaimed Davis, standing with the rest.

"I don't know," said Cody, "but I don't think that Ken likes her very much."

Gatomon clung to Kari's leg."I don't like that woman, Kari."

"You're right, Gatomon.She feels . . . wrong."

Yolei stopped massaging her wrist and turned to her friend in concern."What do you mean, Kari?"

"I don't know, Yolei.She just doesn't feel right."

"I know what you mean," T.K. breathed next to her.He frowned as Patamon settled on his hat."Something's funny with her."

"Well, I don't feel anything!"

"Be quiet, Davis!" ordered Tai."Something is going on here."

Matt stepped towards Ken with Gabumon close behind him."Yeah, I don't like it one bit."

Oblivious to the chatter behind them, Ken and Wormmon glared at the woman in hatred.

She was nonplused."You should train your slug better.He's very rude."

Ken stepped in front of his partner protectively."You leave him alone!What do you want from me?"

"All in due time, my dear Little Boy Emperor, all in due time.Until then, pet, pleasant dreams."She turned and vanished in a flash of red and white.

"Ken," Wormmon tugged at his partner's pants."I can still catch her if I digivolve."

The boy didn't move.

"Ken?"

With an obvious effort to regain control of himself, Ken turned and looked down at his digimon, his eyes deep pools of shadow."No.She'll be back."He bent down and lifted up the little virus digimon in his arms."She always comes back."

Suddenly exhausted, the indigo-haired youth picked up his briefcase and turned to go.

"Wait, Ken!" Davis came after him extending a hand."Who was that creepy lady, anyway?"

Ken didn't turn, only moved his head so he could look at Davis coldly."This isn't your concern."

"Yeah, well, I just made it my concern!"

A gentle half smile snuck onto Ken's lips."You're odd, Davis Motomiya.And I . . .I must go.If you need anything . . . e-mail me and I will repay my debt."He turned about to face Davis and smirked slightly.He bowed."Until then, my former adversary," and with that, he simply walked away.

Davis stared after him until Matt came and stood along side him."Close your mouth, Davis.You'll catch flies."The blonde boy stared at Ken's distant back thoughtfully."That certainly did not go the way I had planned."

"No kidding," said Cody, his green eyes troubled."Who was that woman in red and what does Ken have to with her?"

"Or more accurately," corrected Sora, "what does she have to with Ken?"

There was a long silence broken by a frustrated groan from Davis."Man, I just knew I shouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning!"

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	7. Sleep to Dream and Dream Awake: The Sand

For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

** **

**__________________________________________________________**

Disclaimer:I don't own Digimon.I am not that fortunate.Digimon is owned by Fox Kids, Saban (I think), and a bunch of now-wealthy Japanese people. 

Lucky bastards.Moreover, I am American.I take French. 

If you want to know French words, names, and spellings, e-mail me.Do not ask me for Japanese.

I love Asian culture, but I can't spell anything Asian worth a damn.

Hell, I can't spell anything in English worth a damn.

If I have mauled Japanese names (particularly for places and digimon), 

PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND E-MAIL ME CORRECTIONS.

Also, this is one of the reasons why I use the American names

(despite the fact that I prefer the names Osamu, Iori, and Yamato over the English).

Please don't sue me or steal from me; I'm poor and a real bitch when it comes to my work.

Feedback is a rose in December--novel, beautiful, and always welcome.

ENJOY THE FIC. 

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

** **

**_~For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?_**

**_Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?_****__**

**-Matthew 16: 26**

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

Part Six 

Leafmon gently bounced up and down on Ken's back in the darkness, listening as his partner's frantic gasps for air slowed down.The little green digimon hopped off Ken and bounced his way to the head of the bed to softly nuzzle Ken's chin.

"Ken?"

The boy shuddered violently, but remained silent.The baby digimon sighed.

This was the ninth time that Ken had woken up screaming tonight, and, while three, sometimes even four, such incidents were not unusual for the former Supreme Ruler of the Digital World, Leafmon was really beginning to fear for his partner.Next to him, Ken's body shuddered again and the baby digimon resumed his nudging, almost expecting to be smacked off the elevated bed and across the boy genius's orderly room.That was what the Digimon Emperor would have done.Provided that he had even let his partner this close to him as he slept in the first place.

Leafmon sighed again.Poor Ken.

"Ken?" he called timidly.

This time Ken looked up; his were eyes sunken hollows bored into his pasty, sweat-streaked face.His hair clung to his skull as he stared into the blue eyes of his digimon.Leafmon surpressed a gasp of horror at Ken's appearance; the boy looked terrible.

Seeing the expression in his partner's eyes, Ken lay down again and curled up into a fetal position, burrowed deep within the covers, yet shivering uncontrollably.The two were silent for a moment.

"Why?" he whispered, voice barely audible.

"What?"The little digimon hopped closer to Ken, listening to the ragged breathing.Ken, he realized, was crying.

"Why what?" he asked, uncertain how to help his friend.

The human's voice was thin and tortured."Why?Why did you stay?Why did you return?Everyone else always leaves me.Everyone.Can't you see I'm a monster, Leafmon?I destroy everything.Everything I touch, everyone I love, I destroy . . .I caused . . .I _reveled_ in it all!I loved it-- all of it . . ."The young man trailed off, words swallowed by tears and thoughts drowned in sorrow. "Why?" he whispered at last.

Leafmon frowned, eyes shining worriedly.Ken was sliding into these depressions more and more often.The darkness in his soul plagued him more and more often.And it frightened Leafmon.It frightened him because he didn't know what to do or how to stop it.It frightened him because Ken would not--could not--confide his terrible pain to another; such a thing simply went against his nature.And it frightened him because he was terrified beyond anything else of losing Ken to the darkness again.He didn't think his heart could survive another Digimon Emperor; and he knew that Ken's could not.

Ken abruptly sat up and pulled his knees to his chest, resting his head upon them.He did not speak.

Finally, the little digimon could stand the silence no longer."Ken?" he said, doing his 'hold-me-bounce.'

Ken took the hint and lifted the little green fuzz ball gently, almost as though he would break.Leafmon looked deeply into his partner's eyes, unhidden by the "Camera Face" and washed clear by unfullfilling tears.He looked past Ken the genius and saw Ken the little boy.A terribly frightened and lonely little boy who was lost in the bad world without anyone to protect him.His protectors had left him to the harsh realities of life and those realities had been more than his gentle soul could accept.

Leafmon felt a strong warm suffuse him even as a sharp, causeless pain filled his eyes with tears.What could he say to this boy who knew so much and so little?Who had stared right into the abyss and, not only felt the abyss stare back at him, but had also felt the abyss become him?

The soft creature pressed himself against the boy's chest and felt the other's human heart beating within his ribcage like the final throes of a dying bird._Humans have such fragile hearts_, he thought sadly.Tears slid down Leafmon's cheeks and vanished into the hot material of Ken's nightshirt.

"I love you, Ken.You're my best friend.Without you, I am alone.I don't want to be alone anymore Ken.It's hard . . .Alone."

Ken cradled his digimon to him like the precious gift he was.His sharp mind locked onto Leafmon's last words: _It's hard . . .Alone._

Someone else had said that to him.Who was it?_Ishi . . .Ishida.Matt._

It's hard alone.

_But it's worse with another_, the youngest Ichijouji thought bleakly._It's so much worse_. 

The light from the streetlights outside was resting on something reflective on his desk, illuminating it through a small crack in the curtains.It was a photograph.Against his will, Ken's eyes flitted over to and rested upon that photograph.It sat right next to his computer where he would always see it-- and always remember . . .

_Sam . . ._

Yes, it was hard alone, but it was worse with another.When you were alone, at least, there was no one to hate but yourself, no one to hurt but **yourself**.

The boy shifted and then frowned.There was something in his bed.He looked down to his side and freed a hand, brushing at the mattress in the dark.It felt like . . ._Wet sand?_

Sleep did not return to Ken Ichijouji that night.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	8. Disarm You With a Smile and Cut You Like...

For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

** **

**__________________________________________________________**

Disclaimer:I don't own Digimon.I am not that fortunate.Digimon is owned by Fox Kids, Saban (I think), and a bunch of now-wealthy Japanese people. 

Lucky bastards.Moreover, I am American.I take French. 

If you want to know French words, names, and spellings, e-mail me.Do not ask me for Japanese.

I love Asian culture, but I can't spell anything Asian worth a damn.

Hell, I can't spell anything in English worth a damn.

If I have mauled Japanese names (particularly for places and digimon), 

PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND E-MAIL ME CORRECTIONS.

Also, this is one of the reasons why I use the American names

(despite the fact that I prefer the names Osamu, Iori, and Yamato over the English).

The song "Disarm" belongs to The Smashing Pumpkins and Billy Corgen.I do not have their permission to use it and am not getting anything from its use.

Please don't sue me or steal from me; I'm poor and a real bitch when it comes to my work.

Feedback is a rose in December--novel, beautiful, and always welcome.

ENJOY THE FIC. 

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

** **

**_~Serpents, brood of vipers!How can you escape the condemnation of hell?_****__**

**-Matthew 23: 33**

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

Part Seven 

Kari Yagami was the Child of Light.Not in some abstract, mysterious way, but in a very literal sense.She was the Digidestined who was chosen to bear the Crest of Light and thus bring Light to the Digital World.Unfortunately for her, Light cannot exist without Darkness, and so, for all the Light in her soul (and there was a great deal) there was also an equal share of Darkness.As a result, Kari had long been prone to periods of overwhelming darkness from which she found it more and more difficult to escape as time passed.There were, naturally, good days and bad days, but tonight definitely fell under the category of the latter.

The problem was this: Kari was dreaming.

The beach was familiar as she looked out over the black waves.The wind carried a faintly stagnant odor, like something dying, offensive to her delicate nose.The Child of Light grimaced.

Her voice sounded hollow and small."The Dark Ocean?"She looked around, confused, her hand instinctively reaching up for the Tag and Crest should not have been there, but somehow was."Gatomon?"

There was no reply.

"Gatomon, are you here?"

In the distance water boomed loudly.

_Why have I been called here again?Is it those weird digimon?_She shivered, not from the cold—for it was neither cold nor hot there—but from the utter emptiness she felt invading her."I want to go home . . ."

The wind blew, carryingaway the scent of death and tossing her hair about, and she turned to face it.That was when she heard the humming.It was a very quiet sound, the only reason the she had heard it had been because of the wind, but she felt drawn to it.

_That music . . . I'm not alone here!_ __

Suddenly relieved, the girl began to walk into the waning wind, eager to find companionship._I wonder who it is.I hope that they know how to get me home again._

It did not occur to her that the source of the music could be hostile—but, then, Kari was also just a little naive, too.

She walked a long way up the beach until she cam to the base of a cliff. The humming was loudest here, so logically its source was very close.As she rounded to bend, she saw that she had been correct.

Sitting in the sand was a small boy, roughly the age of six.He was a tiny waif with longish indigo hair and still slightly chubby with baby fat.His back to her, he sat halfway down the beach in the water so that when the tide came up it swirled all the way up past his waist before returning to the oozing gray water from whence it came.It was also knocking down the sand castle the little boy was trying to build.The child would get a tower of damp gray sand built and begin to shape it, molding it into the form he desired, when the icy water would rush in and dissolve the base, collapsing the little boy's masterpiece as he sat soaked in the liquid perpetrator and desperately attempting to save the structure.

This happened four separate times as Kari watched, eyes wide._Why doesn't he move?Can't he see that the water will always come and wreck the tower?Doesn't he see that the water surrounds him?_

Finally, after the water washed away the child's edifice a fifth time, the little boy threw down the little plastic pail he was using, looked up at the un-sky-like sky and wailed with a child's despair, "I'm not good enough!I CAN'T DO IT!!"

Suddenly Kari's conscience and common sense kicked in and she moved forward with the intent of taking the wailing child up in her arms.She stopped when she heard a slightly scornful voice emerge from her left.

"What's all this?Crying, Kenny-boy?"

Kari's eyes widened as she looked at the source of the voice._Ken?_

_ _

The young man speaking appeared to be a little bit older than her and his blue hair was worn in a familiar looking spiked style.He wore the same gray school uniform that Ken wore and gold-rimmed glasses rested on his finely carved nose, slightly magnifying blue-violet eyes.

Kari frowned, trying to get a better view of the young man's face instead of the side view she was forced to endure as he approached the little boy._Ken?No . . . That can't be him.The smile, the body language all look similar to Ken's, but there's something different about him . . .Something . . . odd.Hmmm._Her soft brown eyes shifted from the boy to the scene before as the Ken-look-alike began to address the child.

"Now what is with the waterworks, bro.?Can't even handle something this easy?"

The boy looked up, giving Kari a glimpse of shining blue-violet eyes and a delicate, tear-streaked, face._They look so similar . . ._

The child struggled a moment to get enough air to speak."I can't do it, Sam.It's just too hard."

"Nonsense," responded the older boy briskly."And stop all that blubbering; crying will never get you anywhere in life, Kenny-boy."

The child sniffled, but did as he was told.With the tears properly under control, Sam resumed."You're just not trying hard enough.Now I want you to do it again, but this time: think!Don't just use your hands, baby brother, use your mind!There must be a balance, Ken.That's what you are lacking.That's why, no matter how high you build your tower, you will never be able to build it as high as it can go.You lack balance.Not everything is black and white, you know.Now try again.Balance!"

_That child_ . . . Kari thought."That child is Ken . . ." She jumped, frightened by the sound of her own voice.

The boy standing over Ken gently laid his hands on the child's shoulders, and smiled slightly, but didn't turn his head.He nodded."Yes Kari; this is little Ken Ichijouji."

Kari stepped forward out of the protection of the cliff wall to where she could be seen.Ken's pail, she suddenly noticed, bore the Crest of Kindness, his Crest, on the front in colors that were too bright for the world they were all in.The child hummed to himself and seemed oblivious to her presence.

_What does all this mean?_

"What do you want this to mean, Child of Light?" the Ken-look-alike asked in response to her thoughts, still looking straight forward and avoiding her gaze."This could mean nothing or everything.It all depends on what Kenny-boy wants to do.Or what you and the other Digidestined allow him to do . . . Will you permit him to do what is necessary?"

Unbidden, Ken's words from earlier that day returned._"Understand, I am seeking neither your blessing nor your appreciation for what I am doing, I only ask that you do not interfere.I must do what is necessary to rectify past mistakes."_

Fear slid up and down Kari's spine like a leach beneath her skin."Who are you?" she whispered."Why did you bring me here?"

"To see."

"To see what?!" Her voice rose as she became angrier."Who are you?"

The older boy seemed to sigh, as if reaching a conclusion he was not particularly pleased with.He stood for a moment with his eyes closed.His expression was so peaceful that Kari thought he might have gone to sleep.

"My name," he began in a cracked voice, "is Osamu Ichijouji, only Ken can call me Sam, and I have brought you here to see my little brother."

Kari took a few more steps forward and her eyes fell upon Ken, still trying to build his castle despite the black waves.She looked back to Osamu."What are you?What am I supposed to see?"

"That . . . That, I cannot tell you.You have to find the truth your own way."

Kari clenched her hands into fists.She could feel her temper slipping."Liar," she hissed in fury."Look at me!"

Osamu didn't move.

"I said look at me!"

"No," he said slowly, shaking his head ever so slightly."You don't want me to do that--"

Kari took another step forward, placing herself less than a foot from the two Ichijouji brothers."Look.At.Me.Now."

He smiled, a Ken smirk, and closed his eyes."You really are a fool.You shouldn't mess with things you don't understand, little girl."

Kari stiffened._Ken's words again . . ._"Look at me.Please?Just look at me."

The eldest Ichijouji opened his eyes, "Very well," and slowly turned his head to face Kari.The Digidestined of the Light choked back a scream and covered her mouth in a desperate attempt to stop herself from vomiting.

The left half of Osamu Ichijouji's head was missing.

From his left cheek to his temple, the skin was brushburnt and torn away in some places, revealing the mealy-looking oozing muscle stretched tight beneath.The entire left eyelid was missing and the bone just above the eye gleamed through.The nose was mangled and the young man's lower lip and a chunk of flesh from his chin hung downward by a thin red strip of abused flesh, swinging crazily as the right half of his mouth continued to smirk.Most of the skin on the forehead was gone, ripped away to display bashed and cracked bone.Towards the ridge of the skull, above the eye and over the left ear, a large plate of the skull bone was gone; this left the upper right side of his head open to view and the brain within was ripped and wet-looking, a mashed red-gray mush piled into the gaping hole.

Ichijouji grinned."I told you you didn't want me to do that."

Kari stumbled backwards and fell.Her eyes widened as something small and red pushed itself out of his eye cavity, slipping its way between the bone and slick eyeball loosed from its lid.It looked like . . . rice?_No_, she realized, _not rice . ._ .It was . . .It was . . . 

"Oh my god, they're **maggots**!!!"

As if on cue, more of the wriggling larva began pushing themselves through various places on his face, punching tiny holes through the tissue and slipping down the bloody face to land on the ground and wriggle their fat bodies in the sand.One burst through his cheek.Another came out of his forehead.They rained from his open skull, making wet sticking and sucking noises and they pushed against one another to be free of his body.They were huge and wet and red and . . .

"Oh lord . . ."

His left eye, that hellishly glowing blue-violet and white orb, twitched.

Osamu laughed maniacally."What wrong Kari?"

Ken continued to hum innocently as the waves wrecked his castle.

_Shut up, shut up!Why won't he shut up?!?!_

Osamu's eye began to stretch and distend as a maggot began to struggle against the fragile membrane.Ken began to sing softly in English with his child's voice.

_"Disarm you with a smile--"_

The eye exploded outward, splattering Kari with blood and fluid.She screamed.

_"And leave you like they left me here--"_

A huge maggot revealed itself, pushing its way out of Osamu's head, stretching the eye cavity until the surrounding bone creaked in protest and then gave way as Osamu's head exploded with a hollow red pop.

_"To wither in denial: the bitterness of one who is left alone."_

Ken's next words were lost beneath Kari's shriek as Osamu Ichijouji's body collapsed to the ground and the huge maggot continued to slide out, its girth tearing the fragile skin at the neck.The maggot began to move towards her.

Kari's eyes darted to Ken who was still building.The child was covered in blood and the fallen maggots as he used the pail next to him to scoop up the now red sand.His lips were still moving as he sung, but she couldn't hear the words.

"Ken!Ken, get up!Run! _Run!!_"

Ken didn't move.

And then . . . Then the monstrous maggot was free of his brother's corpse and moving towards Kari.A slit appeared in the end moving towards her.It was a mouth."Run, little girl.Run far, far away.This one will be ours again soon . . . As you shall be. . ."

Kari tried to scream again.She tried to move.She tried to do anything but sit there as the thing drug itself towards her.But she couldn't do anything; she was trapped.

"STOP IT!!!!"

The enraged voice snapped the Child of Light out of her funk and she twisted her head to see . . . "Osamu?!" 

Yes, it was unmistakably the boy who had identified himself as Osamu Ichijouji standing next to her and blocking the maggot's path, but he was different from the boy the maggot had hatched out of .This boy felt . . . real.She didn't feel the disjointed sensation she felt when she saw the first Sam.This boy, she knew, belonged here.

"STOP IT!!!!" he ordered the maggot, darting between them."These are not for you!"

Outraged, the monstrosity reared up and screamed in fury.Then, faster than Kari would have thought possible, it flipped over and lunged towards an oblivious Ken.

"No!!!" shrieked Osamu.The older boy leapt onto the creature's back and began to hit it."Ken!Run!RUN!"

Startled, the child looked up with wide, innocent eyes."Sam . . .?"

Kari pushed herself to her feet and darted forward to grab the child.She was shocked to see Ken vanish as if he had never been there.A wave came up, destroying Ken's castle before triumphantly lifting up the bucket and carrying it swiftly back to the Black Ocean.

Osamu glared down at her as he wrestled with the maggot."Run, girl!Go home!"

Hands raised defensively, she staggered backwards.Then she turned and ran for her life.

"Tai!!" she cried to the skies."Tai, I want to go home!T.K.!Gatomon!Help me!HELP ME!"

"Kari!" a voice answered.

She sobbed in relief."Tai!Tai!"Her Crest began to glow brightly and a light appeared in front of her.She hurled herself through the light and fell straight into . . . No . . . sat bolt upright and straight into her brother's waiting arms.

Kari clung to him and opened her eyes fearfully.There was no desert.There were no Black Oceans and no maggots.There were only Tai and Gatomon.Her digimon looked at her with large blue eyes and Kari buried herself in her brother's warm arms.Sobs shook her frail body as the events of the dream rolled through her mind with renewed horror.

"Kari?" he whispered softly, rubbing her back."It's okay, Kari.It's alright now.You're safe.You're home and you're safe again."

Gradually, her sobs and tremors lessened until she merely lay against him in silence.He continued to hold her.Finally, he ran a hand through his wild hair and then pushed her gently away from him so he could look her in the eye."What happened?"

She inhaled a shaky breath."It was . . . Nothing . . . It was just a dream."She pushed him away and pulled back her blankets."I need a drin--"

Tai looked at her sharply as she stopped speaking. Her face was deadly pale and her brown eyes were fully dilated as she stared in horror at the bed.He followed her gaze.There was sand in her bed.Not normal sand like near Rainbow Bridge, though.This sand was gray and washed-out looking, like ash.

Tai's forehead wrinkled in confusion."How did that--" 

Suddenly, Kari leapt to her feet and began to frantically dust herself off."Tai, e-mail the others and tell them to meet at the Betamon village tomorrow at five.

"But, Kari," he protested, "It's 5:30 in the morning!Can't it wait?"

"Don't argue with me!Just do it.Please."

"And what are you going to be doing?" 

"I need to take a shower."She stopped at the door."And Tai?"

"What?"

"E-mail Ken, too."

He eyed her dubiously."And what exactly thinks makes you think he'll even come?"

"Oh, he'll come alright."Kari replied grimly."I know that he'll come."She closed the door behind her.

"But how--?"He sighed at the door and then looked at Gatomon."What the _hell_ is going on here?"

The Champion digimon shrugged."I'm not sure, but Kari knows what she's doing.Just do what she says."

"Fine . . . But I sure as hell don't have to like it!"

***************

Ken's D-Terminal beeped noisily from his desk, rudely intruding on his thoughts.The former Emperor turned away from the city stretched out below his balcony to regard the darkened interior with a frown.He hoped that noise hadn't awoken Leafmon; with all Ken's tossing and turning, the poor little digimon barely got enough sleep as it was.

He entered the room quietly and slid the glass door closed behind him.The D-Terminal beeped again insistently and he turned on a small lamp.After a careful glance up at the bed to check Leafmon, he opened the device and read the messages.The first was a mass e-mail.

_Everyone,_

_There's an emergency.Please meet Kari at the Betamon village at 5:00 tomorrow._

_I stress EMERGENCY!!!!!!!_

_-Tai Yagami_

The second e-mail was private, addressed to Ken alone:

_That includes you, Ichijouji.5:00.Betamon Village.For Kari._

_-Tai Yagami _

_ _

_ _

Leafmon blinked sleepily in the dim light."Ken?What's wrong?"

_For Kari?What does the Child of Light have to do with me?_The boy looked at the D-Terminal with a dark frown."Apparently, my friend, I've got mail."

Leafmon blinked again, this time in confusion."So?"

His partner looked up at him and the baby digimon frowned at the dark circles beneath his eyes.Ken sounded tired."We have a meeting to attend."

Ken set the Terminal down with a small sigh and walked back out onto the balcony.The sun was rising.He began to sing under his breath._"Disarm you with a smile. / Cut you like you want me to; / Cut that little child / Inside of me and such a part of you. / Mmm hmm hmm me, it burns." _

"Ken?" question Leafmon from within the room."Ken what are you singing?"

There was no response.Ken had barely heard the question and it didn't register.In fact, Ken wasn't even really aware that he was singing, let alone of what he was singing._"I used to be a little boy / So old in my shoes.And what I choose now in my voice. / What's a boy supposed to do? / The killer in me is the killer in you, my love . . ."_

" . . . Ken?You should come back to bed, Ken.You have school tomorrow."

" . . . In a minute, Leafmon.I want to watch the sun rise."_Mmm hmm hmm me, it burns._

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	9. Discovery: Pieces of the Past and a Puzz...

For They Shall Be Filled

**For They Shall Be Filled******

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

** **

**__________________________________________________________**

Disclaimer:I don't own Digimon.I am not that fortunate.Digimon is owned by Fox Kids, Saban (I think), and a bunch of now-wealthy Japanese people. 

Lucky bastards.Moreover, I am American.I take French. 

If you want to know French words, names, and spellings, e-mail me.Do not ask me for Japanese.

I love Asian culture, but I can't spell anything Asian worth a damn.

Hell, I can't spell anything in English worth a damn.

If I have mauled Japanese names (particularly for places and digimon), 

PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND E-MAIL ME CORRECTIONS.

Also, this is one of the reasons why I use the American names

(despite the fact that I prefer the names Osamu, Iori, and Yamato over the English).

Please don't sue me or steal from me; I'm poor and a real bitch when it comes to my work.

Feedback is a rose in December--novel, beautiful, and always welcome.

ENJOY THE FIC. 

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

** **

**_~But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness._**

**_There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth._****__**

**-Matthew 8: 12**

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**Part Eight**

The Odaiba Public Library was quiet on Saturday afternoons.With no school, only the occasional college student or adult could be seen roaming the isles of books in search of Napoleon or Gandhi.This was perfectly alright with Kari, of course.She had some serious work to do.

"Why are we here, Kari?I wanted to catch a quick cat nap."

The microfilm projector threw odd shadows over the girls face as she flipped through the articles."Keep it down, Gatomon.I don't want to get caught by the librarian; she might think you're a pet."

"A pet?"The feline digimon arched her back, offended."A pet?!"

"Oh, don't get your fur ruffled."

"Hmph.Easy for you to say."Gatomon leapt up onto Kari's lap.She watched the newsreel articles flip past."What are you looking for, anyway?"

"Ichijouji."

"Ken?Why are you looking for newspaper articles about Ken?"

The Child of Light frowned but didn't look away from the screen."I'm not.I'm looking to see if he has a brother.Someone named Osamu, actually."

"So why don't you just ask Ken if it's this important?"

"Because what I want to know is very private and Ken doesn't trust us.Even if he did, I doubt that he'd want to talk about it . . ."

"If Ken wouldn't want you to know, why are you looking for this kid?"

"Because," Kari sighed softly, "I need to know that I'm not going crazy."

Gatomon regarded her human worriedly."I don't—"

"There!That was it!"

"What was?"

"This."Kari flipped back three articles until she reached one that displayed a large picture of a small boy with spiked hair and gold-rimmed glasses.She read the headline."_Young Tamachi Boy Registered as a Clinical Genius._Osamu Ichijouji, age six, was recently declared by the International Psychology Board as a genius with an IQ of 170 points, well above the average . . ."

_ _

"Kari," asked Gatomon, "That boy looks just like Ken.What does it mean?" 

"I'm not sure, Gatomon."The child flipped ahead several articles, scanning for the words "Tamachi," "Ichijouji," and "genius."Several articles appeared and she scanned them all.

_"Young Ichijouji Advanced Two Grades."_

_ _

_"Boy Genius Writes Winning Computer Program."_

_ _

_"Tamachi Elementary School for the Gifted Enrolls Young Genius."_

_ _

_"Ichijouji Takes the Elementary Cup for Tamachi." _

_ _

The list went on and on.

"This doesn't make any sense, Kari," Gatomon protested as she read the last headlines."I thought Ken was the genius.Who's this kid?"

Kari's eyed were glued to the screen."This is . . . his brother."

"Then what happened to him?Why haven't we heard of him?"

In response Kari flipped forward several articles, stopping at a picture of a mangled car.The headline read: _Tragic Car Accident Takes the Life of Young Genius and Driver, Injures Brother._

Kari's eyes widened and she read on.

_Saturday afternoon at 2:00 a tragic car accident took the lives of driver Takahashi Okada and young Osamu Ichijouji.Takahashi was declared dead at the scene and the young man and his brother, Ken Ichijouji, were admitted to Tamachi Children's Hospital.The young genius sustained massive injuries to his cranium and a large amount of blood loss.The youngest Ichijouji suffered a sprained ankle, but was held overnight for psychological trauma._

_The accident occurred on the corner of Tamachi Avenue and Main Street when Ken Ichijouji darted out into oncoming traffic.Osamu saw the boy run and followed him, knocking him out of the way of a vehicle.The vehicle, driven by Takahashi Okada, struck the elder Ichijouji, knocking the driver into the windshield and sending the boy several feet in the air.Okada, who was speeding in a school zone, _

_died on impact due to hemorrhaging and trauma to the brain. _

_Osamu was rushed to Tamachi Children's with internal injuries and skull trauma.The young man died an hour after admission.Ken Ichijouji received a sprained ankle after his brother knocked him down, but was admitted for an overnight stay at the hospital for a psychological evaluation._

_"It was terrible," reported one eyewitness."I was talking to Mrs. Ichijouji about little Osamu and the two boys were talking.Suddenly Ken yelled and just ran out into the street.Osamu saw him go and ran after him.He knocked the boy out of the way of the car, but couldn't move in time.Ken saw the entire thing happen less than a meter from it all.After the impact there was just this . . . silence, and then Ken started screaming.He was still screaming when they took him away in the ambulance.It was all just terrible."_

_A private funeral service will take place next week at Tamachi Cemetery._

Kari leaned back heavily in her chair."Poor Ken."

"Kari, is this what you were looking for?"

"Yeah, but . . ." her voice drifted off.

"But what," prompted her friend.

"What does this have to with my dream?Why did Osamu come to me?"

The digimon looked from her human to the screen and then back._I don't know what's going on, Kari, but I'm going to find out . . ._

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	10. Guardians, Gods, and the Whore Destiny

For They Shall Be Filled

**For They Shall Be Filled******

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

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Disclaimer:I don't own Digimon.I am not that fortunate.Digimon is owned by Fox Kids, Saban (I think), and a bunch of now-wealthy Japanese people. 

Lucky bastards.Moreover, I am American.I take French. 

If you want to know French words, names, and spellings, e-mail me.Do not ask me for Japanese.

I love Asian culture, but I can't spell anything Asian worth a damn.

Hell, I can't spell anything in English worth a damn.

If I have mauled Japanese names (particularly for places and digimon), 

PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND E-MAIL ME CORRECTIONS.

Also, this is one of the reasons why I use the American names

(despite the fact that I prefer the names Osamu, Iori, and Yamato over the English).

Please don't sue me or steal from me; I'm poor and a real bitch when it comes to my work.

Feedback is a rose in December--novel, beautiful, and always welcome.

ENJOY THE FIC. 

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**_~Let them alone.They are the blind leaders of the blind._**

**_And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a ditch._****__**

**-Matthew 15: 14**

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**Part Nine**

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Gennai was sitting down on a chair the wasn't quite real, patiently waiting to be escorted out of one not-quite-real room and into another of similar dimensional disproportion.He looked down at his watched and was not at all surprised to see the long hand rapidly spinning around without rhyme or reason.A raccoon floated past with a Chihuahua in its mouth and the young-looking inter-dimensional traveler frowned._What is taking so long?_

On cue, a large rectangle of fire appeared in the air, hovered a moment, and then exploded inward, leaving a door in the theoretical wall of the non-room.Gennai stood and carefully gathered his robes around him before stepping through the door into a brightly lit area.

The light did not come from one source, but rather from the four beings that stood before him.The creature on Gennai's far left emitted a yellow light; the one in front of him and to the left, a blue light; the creature to the blue one's left threw off an overtone of red; while the last creature to the far right added in it's own silver light to the spectrum.The lights all blended together to create a sharp white brilliance that filled the pseudo room's immensity and stretched beyond into infinity.These were the Four Guardians of the Digital World.

Gennai knelt before his former masters.Normally, the creatures would have appeared in a corporeal form to the traveler and Gennai would have embraced them as friends instead of kneeling before them as an inferior, but circumstance and time now prevented such a thing from occurring, and for cleanliness' sake everyone knew that it was best to just do things by the Book.

"You summoned me?"

The red entity spoke first.**"Yes, Gennai."**It was neither a voice nor a thought, but something in between.**"The Crest of Kindness has been awakened.Were you aware of this?"**

"Yes.It is due to my manipulations that--"

The silver one pulsed slightly.**"Did you ask for our approval in this matter?"**

Gennai's head snapped up, blue eyes hardening."No, I assumed--"

**"You assume too much, old friend."**This gentle rebuff came from the blue entity.

The red entity spoke again.**"Were you also responsible for the reformatting of this Child's Wormmon?"**

Gennai frowned darkly and stood."You charged me with protecting the Digidestined and their partners.That is what I was doing.Granted, Ken Ichijouji has made errors, terrible, terrible errors, in the past, but he is still Digidestined!"

**"He is dangerous!"**__replied the silver one sharply.**"How can you justify his return to the Digital World--a world which you are sworn to preserve?"**

**"You judge too harshly."** rumbled the blue entity to the silver.**"The Child could prove to be a great asset to us."**

Gennai looked from one Guardian to another, still scowling."If he is dangerous it is our own fault and no one else's.He did the best he could given the materials presented.The problem is the Dark Spore Milleniummon implanted in him when he was destroyed."

**"That,"** interjected the yellow being, **"is only part of the problem.Are you not aware of what has been transpiring in the Sixth Dimension-- the Dark World?"**

"No . . .I thought that you were to make sure Ken was safe from the Dark Ocean's reach."

**"We tried,"** sighed the blue one.**"But we are chained beyond the Digital World and our powers only extend so far . . .It was the influence of the Dark Ocean in conjunction with the Dark Spore which was driving the Child of Kindness mad.And, while the Spore now lays dormant, the Darkness reaches for him still."**

**"Indeed,"** agreed the silver being."**The Dark Undersea Master is quite interested in Ichijouji-- and it is through Kindness that he has seen another Child: the Child of Light."**

Gennai sat down heavily."Oh, no . . ."

**"Yes,"** the other continued grimly.**"It was only due to our negligence that either Child was exposed to the Dark World, but--"**

"Wait a minute," interrupted the traveler, "Kari was never in the Dark World."

The red one seemed to shift and look to its companions.**"Yes, she was.And Hope pursued her there and returned her to her own dimension.The fact that not one, but three of the Chosen Children have ventured that far away from their own dimensions is proof that the Dimensional Seals are weakening and that the Dark Undersea Master's grip on all three dimensions is getting stronger." **

"What can be done?"

**"The Dark Undersea Master is intent on possessing the powers of Light and Kindness," **the yellow being replied.**"Ichijouji and the young Kamiya present both the greatest possible threats and allies to his supremacy and cannot be allowed to fall under his power.Both are capable of finding, focusing, and channeling tremendous amounts of energy and both possess awareness** **far above the others of their kind.They must be protected.If the Child of Kindness had not activated his Crest, he would have been safe with the Dark Spore in hibernation.Now however, he is in grave danger."**

Gennai felt suddenly ill."And Kari?"

The rumble that came from the red creature sounded like rolling thunder.**"Because of the nature of her Crest, she will always bear the touch of Darkness on her soul, but she is in no immediate danger.The Dark One is focusing most his attention on Kindness because he has already tried to taint the Child's soul.He very nearly succeeded.The Black Digivice, which Kindness bears, is a testament to this fact.Another entity, a spirit from a different dimension where we hold no sway, is trying to intercede of behalf of the Child, but this one has little influence here and the Dark One interferes and uses him to frighten the boy.Do not underestimate our opponent's intelligence or skill.He knows that, having once been turned to Darkness, the boy can easily be turned again."**

"But you have a solution?"

There was a shifting amongst the Guardians and Gennai watched them closely.They looked almost . . . afraid?

The yellow being answered his question.**"It is possible that the power of their digivolutions can be increased even while the taint in their souls is . . . equalized."**

"I don't understand."

Therewas another discontented shift and then the blue Guardian explained further, saying simply**: "You must release to them the Dark Crests."**

The non-world around Gennai spun for a moment as he tried to absorb the implications of those words.Release the Dark Crests . . . Such a thing had been done only once before and it had nearly resulted in the destruction of the Digital World as well as the Real World.In the end it had worked out, but things had been very close for a while.Kari, Gennai knew, would most likely be able to handle the effects of possessing her Anti-Crest eventually, but Ken . . . That boy was hanging onto his sanity by a thread.A very, very thin thread.

"Y-You just can't do that," the young man finally stuttered."It could destroy them . . ." 

**"There is another option,"** offered the red one.

"What?"

**"They must all be tested.They must use their Crests to accept the Blessings of the Light into their soul.Our Blessing cannot expel the Darkness, but it can offer them protection from the Dark One."**

The traveler's eyes narrowed in suspicion."And what is the nature of this test?"

The blue Guardian seemed almost sad for a moment.**"That knowledge is for the Digidestined alone, Gennai."**

**************__

_ _

A shadow was moving through that place where Gennai was.It knew how to navigate the pockets between worlds and to how to slide to the place that lay between a second: the place where Gennai met with the Four Guardians of the Digital world.It saw and heard the meeting between the forces which protected the worlds, and it listened closely as Gennai was carefully instructed on what must be done before it scurried back to it's own world: the Dark Dimension.Once there, it wasted no time in finding its master--for one simply did not keep the Dark Undersea Master waiting--and proceeded to report everything it had seen and heard in great detail.

The Master was not pleased.

**"So the fools think to plot against _me?_"**

The creature cringed, praying to whatever deity that would condescend to listen to a being such as itselfthat the Master didn't destroy it--or at least that he destroyed it quickly.The Master, however, was oblivious to his cowering slave.

**"Can they see nothing?I AM A GOD! What are _they_ to _me_?!They are nothing!They re only toys for my amusements: something to be used until it is worthless and then discarded.The fools . . ."**

A figure detached itself from the wall and cautiously approached the Master.It was not wise to disturb him during one of his rages."Shall I destroy the Children?" she asked.

**"Destroy the Children?!"**He struck her hard, sending her flying in a shower of white hair.**"Imbecile.The Child of Kindness is already mine, I must only move to claim him.And the Child of Light?What is she in comparison with my might?The lightest touch of but a fragment of my power reduces her to a whimpering heap!She is almost as useless as the other Digi-fools.Those two children will make especially lovely pets.Ha!No, let the Guardians and their simpleton servant play their little mind games . . .It will be to no avail.But perhaps I can use this to my advantage . . ."**

The dark figure began to pace, deep in thought.Finally he stopped and turned to the crumpled figure he had tossed across the room.**"Has Devimon been reformatted yet?The one that Angemon destroyed on File Island?"**

"Yes, Master."She pulled herself to her feet, struggling not to whimper in pain."He recently digivolved into the demidevimon stage.He does not have any memories of his past incarnation, though."

**"Excellent. Go to him and give him these tasks.First: destroy the Child of Hope.He is source of the Kamiya girl's strength and intrinsic to the team.If possible, blame Ichijouji.This will alienate him and the loss will destroy the girl's inner light.Second: Ken Ichijouji must NOT pass his test for the Blessings.This will force Gennai to surrender a Dark Crest to the Child, not only increasing his own power, but cementing my hold over him."**

"And what of Gennai and the Guardians?"

****

**"Let them alone.They are the blind leaders of the blind and if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch.You are to join Demidevimon in these tasks.I will not accept failure.Now go."**

"Yes, Master," replied the woman with a bow.Her purple sunglasses glittered dully and her long white hair caught the poor light. Then she stood and exited the chamber with quiet relief.She was, of course, only using the Dark One to further her own goals, but the promise of eliminating those irritating brats was simply too good to pass by.As for the Dark Master . . . well, if she was lucky, they would all destroy each other, delivering the Digital World to her on a golden platter . . .

Hovering lightly above the entire scene, an unknown ghostly entity frowned in displeasure._Kenny-boy . . . What will become of you . . . ?_

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	11. Turn Around

For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 

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Vain: Wow, you people actually like this.Hmm.Sorry for making you , umm . . . hurt yourself, Athena.I hope Part 8 didn't upset to many people . . .But I think I should introduce my muses.This is Remy.

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Remy: Salut, mes amies

Vain: This is Sinister.

Sinister:. . .

Vain: Well, he's rather anti-social . . .*brightens*But these are Ken, Wormmon, and the Emperor—er, Kaiser.

Ken: Hi.

Wormmon: Hi

Kaiser: What the hell are they doing here?!This IS NOT even their genre!Well?Ken, get off your ass!You too, slug!We are leaving!

Wormmon: Oh, dear.

Ken: Um . . . We should go, Vain.

Vain: But—Damnit . . . I had better go get them.I kind of need them to live.BRB.

Sinister: Just so you know, Vain doesn't own anyone or thing except the voices in her warped little mind.

Remy: *sigh* Jus' enjoy de fic, non? Et R&R encore, sil vous plait.

.****

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**_~Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves._**

**_Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves._****__**

**-Matthew 15: 14******

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Part Ten 

"Ken, are you sure this is wise?" Stingmon buzzed in concern as he winged over the Digital World.His flight was lazy and unhurried.They were really early for the meeting and he knew that Ken loved to fly, so he was more than happy to give his friend a chance to enjoy himself.

From his position gently cradled in Stingmon's arms, the boy genius shrugged slightly."Probably not, but if the Digidestined are calling me at five in the morning for a favor, then it must be serious.Besides, I'm in their debt--well, Davis's, anyway--and I always pay my debts."

"Very well, Ken.But if things go badly, we are leaving.You've barely slept at all in the past three days and getting into fights is not going to improve things."

The human sighed and then flicked his hair from his violet eyes as he scanned the ground."As you wish, Sting--hey!Stop!What's going on down there?"

The Champion digimon instantly halted in mid air, wings beating furiously, and turned his keen gaze to the patch of ground Ken was pointing at.There were two figures on the ground.One appeared to be small and round with wings sprouting from either side of its head.It appeared to be being beaten by a human female.She wore a long red dress, purple hat, and had long white hair.

"That's her!She's hurting that digimon!" Stingmon hissed."Shall I?"

"Do it!"

The large insect digimon carefully shifted Ken to his shoulder and changed position for a dive."Hold on tight!_Spiking Strike!!_"

The woman looked up sharply at Stingmon's cry and then dove to the side.The red blade of the insect digimon's attack drove into the ground, tearing up the grass.The Champion whirled, ready to attack again.

"Well, well, well," taunted the woman, once more on her feet."If it isn't the child Emperor.I have no business with you today, boy."

"_You_ have no business in the Digital World at all, witch!" retorted Ken as he slipped off his partner's shoulder.He landed on the ground with the quiet grace of a cat."Leave this place at once!"

"Aren't we full of ourselves, hmm?This does not concern you, brat.I suggest you take your fly and buzz off."

It took all of Stingmon's self control not to attack her then and there."If it's a fight you want, you'll get one soon enough!"

The little digimon she had been harassing whimpered.Ken's eyes darted from it to the woman and back._If we fight here, the little one could get hurt, not to mention the fact that the others might see us and probably come running . The Betamon village isn't that far . . .No, I can't get them involved.I can't let any more people get hurt because of my stupidity. _

Ken took a step towards the injured digimon.

The woman took a step towards Ken."Get away from that!"

_"Spiking Strike!"_ Stingmon leapt into the air and lunged after the woman, careful to steer clear of Ken and the injured digimon.

Despite the woman's efforts to dodge it, the blade bit deeply into the side of her dress, cutting through to hit skin.She shrieked and then screamed in indignation as the digimon withdrew to strike again."Y-You, you--"

Stingmon drew his arm back._"Spiking--"_

"Aahh!"The woman threw herself to the left and then rolled to her feet, clutching her side."You'll pay for this," she ground out hatefully.Then she turned and fled.

"No, Stingmon!" Ken called after the digimon as he took off to pursue her."This little one is badly hurt.He needs our help."

The Champion obediently settled on the ground.There was a pulse of light as he dedigivolved back to Wormmon.The little rookie puttered over to his partner with a look of consternation on his face."What is he?" he asked as Ken gingerly lifted the battered creature up into his lap.

"I'm not certain."The pale young man's fingers ran themselves over the little creatures downy black feathers as his large eyes absorbed the sight before him, trying to match the creature to known digimon.The digimon's entire body seemed to be its head.It was small and round with two gray two-toed feet stuck onto its bottom and two large bat wings protruding from its sides in place of ears.It wore a black bandanna adorned with a skull and cross-bones over its closed eyes and its wide mouth was slightly open to reveal a great many long, wicked-looking teeth.

Ken's forehead creased as he concentrated."It looks like a . . ."

"Oh, no!Put him down Ken; walk away!"

"What?" Ken looked up at his partner in shock, unable to believe what he was hearing.It was because of Wormmon's efforts that he even so much as glanced at another creature, human or digimon, with something more than contempt; yet now the little insect wanted to just turn his back on this digimon . . . ?"What's wrong, Wormmon?"

"That's Demidevimon.They're not at all nice digimon.In fact, one of their ideas of fun is playing practical jokes on other digimon.But they're mean and most of the time people get hurt real bad!This digimon is bad news, Ken!Let's just go to the village, please?"

Ken looked from Demidevimon to his partner, weighing his options.The digimon really wasn't _his_ problem . . .He stood."Let's go, Wormmon."

With a sigh of relief, the little green digimon leapt onto his partner's shoulder, pleased that Ken had taken his advice.He didn't know what was up with that Demidevimon, but he made his antennae itch.Wormmon rested his head on Ken's shoulder and closed his aquamarine eyes.

"I guess . . ."

"What?"Ken turned, startled to hear the injured creature speak.His eyes locked onto Demidevimon's still form.

"I guess," the little rookie labored, "that it's true . . . what they say about you, Digimon Emperor."

A dark shadow fell over the wounded creature's eyes."And what is it exactly that they say?"

Demidevimon opened his blue eyes."That your clothes . . . may have changed, but your soul is still as black . . . as your digivice.I didn't believe them.I told them that you had changed . . . that you weren't a monster.Shows what I know."

Ken's eyes flashed in anger and his face twisted slightly as the creature continued."They're right to. . . hate you.You're still the same.How could . . . you just leave me here. . . to die, otherwise . . . ?"

Ken's eyes widened as the last words tore free of the rookie Demidevimon's lips and the creature passed out.Guilt suddenly flooded him_.What was I thinking?!How could I just . . . My, god!I AM a monster.So much blood . . . Won't my hands ever be clean?_

"Oh, Demidevimon, forgive me," the former Emperor murmured as he gathered the bruised form tenderly into his arms."I'm so sorry."

Wormmon watched the scene from his perch with a jealous dark frown.He was torn between obligation and common sense, however.True, the little creature was badly maltreated, but he just _knew_ with every fiber in his virus being that Demidevimon **must not** be trusted._What should I do?_

Ken, however, made the decision for him.After shrugging his jacket and Wormmon off his shoulders, he gently wrapped the wounded digimon in its gray folds and lifted the bundle up in his arm, cradling it to his chest like a child."Wormmon, go into the forest and fetch some herbs, please." 

"But--"

"Hurry, he's in a lot of pain."

". . .Just be careful, Ken."Casting a backwards glance at his human, the virus digimon quickly went off to do as he was told._I hope you know what you're doing, Ken._

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	12. The Merits of Paranoia

For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 

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**Vain:They came back, but the Kaiser says that they won't talk to you.Sorry, he's something of a prick.**

**Kaiser: I heard that!**

**Ken: I think he's getting his whip, Vain.**

**Vain: REMY!!!!!**

**Remy: Eer?**

**Vain: Ken, Wormmon, get the Kaiser off me!!Remy?!A little help here!Ouch!You bastard, that hurt!!! AAHHH!Take that!**

**Remy: Quoi—oh mon Dieu.Merde, chere . . . I t'ink ya killed 'im.**

**Vain: So?**

**Ken: Don't you kind of _need_ him?**

**Vain: Umm . . . Crap.**

**Wormmon: . . . What about the pale man?**

**All: Sinster!!!!!! **

**Sinister: Simpletons.Enjoy the story.**

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**_~Judge not, that you be not judged._****__**

**-Matthew 7: 1**

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Part Eleven

Ken didn't see Wormmon as he vanished, his eyes were locked on the injured Demidevimon in his arms."I'm so sorry," he breathed."It's just hard for me to remember sometimes.It's hard to separate who I was from who I am.Or at least, whom everyone says I'm supposed to be.I guess I really haven't changed.I still can't think of other's feelings . . ."

The digimon in his arms awoke."You?"Round blue eyes blinked in surprise."You stayed?"

"Yeah, I stayed."

"Oh . . . Where's your little friend?"

The boy's brows contracted swiftly and then his expression smoothed over."I sent him to get herbs for you.They'll help with the pain."

The creature closed his eyes as he absorbed this information and then sighed."Thank you.There aren't too many digimon who are willing to help out an undead.You're really kind."

_No, I'm not_._I'm nothing if the sort_, Ken thought bitterly.Aloud, he said nothing.

The human sat down on the grass Indian-style and gently placed the digimon bundle down in front of him.Demidevimon still had his eyes closed and he looked almost asleep.Ken watched him closely and noticed that his breathing was neither even nor deep, though.Still, the undead rookie wasn't feeling talkative and neither was the ex-Emperor, so the two merely sat in companionable silence and waited for Wormmon.

_How did I get here?_ thought the pale boy.His eyes wandered away from Demidevimon and he tilted his head back to stare at a blue digital sky._It seems like just a few days ago I was erecting control spires and fine tuning dark spirals and now . . . Now what?_He closed his eyes._Now I'm alone.I don't really want to be, but I can't help it.The only_ _Digidestined who does not want to carve out my heart with a rusty spoon is Motomiya, and I'm not sure what to think of him.And Kamiya?Just what exactly DOES the Child of the Light want with me?_A scowl spasmed over his face._I always know exactly what I want to say when I approach them, but something always happens.It's almost as though something's trying to keep me from them . . . _Ken bit his lip in frustration._I hate being this . . . helpless!When did I lose control of this situation?When did I lose everything . . .?_He could taste blood in his mouth and he clenched his hands into fists and slowly ceased to bite his lip.Dull pain slid through him, relaxing his body._I really **am** a fool_, he thought darkly._But what is that really?It only means I'm just like everyone else, in my own way.Stupid, inconsequential, and . . . ordinary . . . Does **that** make me Digidestined?Being as useless as everybody else?. . . Hmph.Given the choice, I think I'd rather be the Emperor._

Ken's eyes snapped open and his pupils dilated in fear as he realized what he had just been thinking._God, no!That's what's brought me here in the first place!Damnit, why does this have to be so hard?!When I'm not falling apart, I'm sliding back into the Emperor's habits.It's either one extreme or the other with me.What is wrong with--_

"So what's your--ouch--Crest?"

"What?"Ken jerked and looked at the forgotten digimon as he struggled to disentangle himself from the boy's shirt.

"I said 'what's your Crest?'Argh!A little help here?"

"You shouldn't be doing that," Ken stated coolly as he watched the struggling rookie with mild interest.He made no moves to aid him."Your wounds are all superficial, but you could tear them open or--"

"Don't worry about me," advised Demidevimon as he shook himself free of the shirt."We undead heal real fast."

"So I see."The boy genius eyed the creature expressionlessly as he hopped about and flapped his wings."So then what was all that, 'leave me here to die' crap about?"

Demidevimon stopped and turned slightly, eyes widening."I . . . er . . . um . . . I--"

There was a reason people called Ken Ichijouji "the Rocket."He was fast.He was very, very fast.And suddenly Demidevimon found out that that soccer-honed speed did not get left on the field after the game.The little undead found himself hanging upside down, both feet held in one hand of a very, very pissed off looking former Digimon Emperor.The once-tyrant was on his feet with his free hand on his hip and shaking the digimon like a rag doll.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm j-just- D-D-Demidevimon!"

"Oh, really?" Ken gave the digimon another viscous shake."Then what do you have to do with the white-haired woman?"

"N-nothing!"

Another shake."Liar." 

"I s-swear it!"

"Why did you want to know about my Crest?"

"I was just tryin' to distract you.You looked so sad that I--"

Shake."Why do you care?"

"Cause I know what it's like to be hated because of your past!"

"What?"Ken squinted and brought Demidevimon closer to his face to stare into the upside-down creature's eyes.They were filled with tears and a brilliant shade of blue . . . almost the same color as Wormmon's.Unbidden he remembered seeing that exact same expression, terrified resignation, in his partner digimon's eyes countless times during his reign as Emperor.It had usually been when he abused the cowering creature.Every time the whip fell . . . those eyes.They haunted him.

Sickened, he released Demidevimon and the undead fell to the grass with a dull thud.Ken dropped to the ground in a crouch and put his hands over his eyes."My God, what's happening to me?"_What have I done?What have I allowed myself to become?_

Demidevimon backed away slowly, eyes wide."They're right.You haven't changed at all . . . You can't change."

"What?"Ken's head snapped up and his eye burned into the digimon who was still trying to escape."What do you mean I . . ." he drifted off, too frightened to finish the sentence.

"You can't change," repeated the rookie."You can't help yourself . . . You are the Digimon Emperor and the Emperor is you . . .You're tainted.You could never unlock the full power of your Crest.It would never submit to you."

Ken stood and took a step towards Demidevimon, desperately needing to undo some of the damage he had done, but the digimon flinched at his gestured and cowered on the ground, too terrified to move.

"Please . . ." he begged."Please don't hurt me again."

". . .Go."

"Huh?"Two eyes peered out from beneath black wings.Ken had turned his back and wrapped his arms around his waist, hunched over as though in pain.

_"I said go!"_The Child of Kindness' voice was a strangled scream.He could feel those eyes boring into his back.Those crying blue eyes . . .

Then there was a flap of wings and the movement of air through his hair as Demidevimon flew away.Ken dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms about himself still more tightly._I destroy everything I touch . . . everyone I love . . . gone._

He bet down, dropping his head to the ground until his hair brushed the dirt._This is where I belong.In the dirt._

In the distance he heard a rustle in the underbrush.Wormmon.

Hastily, the boy stood and brushed himself off.He smoothed his face into the mask he wore so often, and carefully arranged himself.His partner could not know what had happened here.

Wormmon cleared the brush easily, dragging a small branch out with him."It's too late in the year for snowgrass, but I found some potay leaves that should--"He cut off as he stared at Ken.The boy's face was slightly flushed and his shoulders were tensed.There was a slight twitch in his lower lip and his breath came too quickly._Something is wrong here._

"What happened?" demanded the little virus as he dropped the suddenly unimportant branch."Demidevimon did something to you, didn't he?Where is he?"The round head swiveled rapidly as Wormmon scanned the area."Where did that flying rat go?"

Ken smiled and wanted to burst into tears at Wormmon's display of protection.The human sat down in the grass."No, I . . .It's nothing.He's gone now.Come here."Pale, short-sleeved arms extended and a somewhat confused Wormmon clambered into Ken's lap.

"Ken, what happened?Are you alright?"

_No._"I'm fine, my friend." 

The digimon frowned._Why are you hiding things from me, Ken?_He remain silent however, unsure of what he should do.

They sat together like that, Ken hugging Wormmon tightly to his chest, for several minutes until the boy broke the silence with an ancient, tired sounding voice, inappropriate for his age."Wormmon?"

"Yes, Ken?"

"Y-you'll love me no matter what, right?"

"Right."

"Forever?"

"Forever."

"And you won't ever leave me, right?Not like--" he broke off, unable to finish the sentence.

Wormmon knew, though; he understood."I will always come back to you, Ken.I promise."

The boy hugged his digimon.

**************

"And why, you fool, did you not obtain the Crest?"

Demidevimon resisted the urge to cringe and fluttered anxiously around the white-haired woman."I tried!" the creature protested with a vehement shake of his feathered body.

"And you failed!" she snapped anxiously."The Master will not tolerate failure!"

"Don't worry about it, Arukenimon.I've done the next best thing."Demideveemon was smirking.

"And just _what_ is that supposed to mean?"

"Easy," replied the reformatted digimon, "We may not have the Crest, but I've made sure that he can't use it.He's afraid to submit to the power of the Crest, and if he tries to make it submit to him, it will only become corrupted.He'll never pass the Guardians' test!"

"And if he does?"

"He won't.I'm sure of it."

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	13. The Traveler

For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) ****

**__________________________________________________________**

Vain:Hi.In case you care, the Kaiser is going to be fine.Although Essex has been muttering stuff about cloning and replicating DNA . . .

Remy: Didn't you have somet'in ta say, chere?

Vain: Oh, yeah!I need to know which couple I should you if any.**_ATTN READERS:_ Do you guys want to see Kensuke, Kenkeru, or no love interest? Please tell me in R&R.I'll take the majority vote.** Sorry, but there will be no Kenlei. I really meant to cover that earlier, but I was being distracted by my loveable muses.

Osamu: Yeah, they're real assess.

Vain: Hey, you're not my muse! What are you doing here?!

Ken: Hey, Sam.I hope you weren't talking about Wormmon and I, though.

Vain: Who's muse are you?!How did you get here?

Sam: Never, otto-chan.I adore you.

Vain: WHO'S ARE YOU???

Sam: Is she always like this?

Ken: Yes.

Vain: Hey, I'm talking here!

Sam: You poor things.

Ken: You get used to it. 

Osamu: Don't worry, Vain, Athena will never miss me.

Vain: Athena?As in **_the_** Athena?Oh, God . . . **THUMP**

Sam: Oh my God! Is she dead? 

Ken: Don't worry we've had this trouble before.I just have to go get Remy and Sinister.

Sam: Who?

Ken: It's a comic thing.Don't ask.

Vain: Remy is that you?

Remy: Oui.Is it my stunning grace that awoke you?

Vain: No, you're breathing on me and had Gumbo for lunch.

Remy: You are so kind, chere . . .

Vain: Well, you did, and you don't need to be a bitch about it.

Remy:. . . "Bitch?"

Vain: Um . . . Rems?Beloved?My first muse and dearest inspiration . . . why is your face twitching like that?Remy?Remy?Put down the bo staff, sweet.Aaahhh!Wormmon, Help Me!

Wormmon: (uses his digimon attack) _Spinning Thread!_

Vain: Um . . . Wormmon, please let me down.

Remy: I t'ink ya look good in spider webbing, chere.

Vain: This isn't funny guys!

Remy: 'Specially stuck ta de ceiling like that!

Vain: You just wait, Cajun!My fun with you has only begun!

Ken: Shouldn't you let her down?

Kaiser: Shut up, Ken.

Vain: And you had better wipe that damn smirk off your face, Kaiser!

Kaiser: Ooh!I'm scared now!

Osamu: You certainly lead an exciting life, Ken.

Wormmon: Don't worry, Ken-chan.The web will dissolve in a few hours.. . . I think.

Vain: How can I write like this?!

Sinister: Dictate.

Vain: When I get down from here, I swear I'm gonna torture you all!

Remy: An de difference would be?

Vain: I hate you.

Remy: No, ya don'.

Vain: Yes, I DO.

Remy: Don'.

Vain: DO!!

Ken: *sigh* Here's Part 12. Please R&R

Remy: Don'.

Ken:. . .

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**_~And whoever falls on this stone will be broken, _**

**_but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder._****__**

**-Matthew 21: 44**

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Part Twelve

The Betamon Village was one of the more recently reconstructed areas of the Digital World and as Gennai walked through he could still smell the paint drying.The digimon moved and bustled along, oblivious to the newness of their surroundings and the Guardian's servant idly wondered how many of them had been reformatted after the fall of the self-styled Digimon Emperor.He wondered if the Digidestined had constructed the buildings according to the previous plan.He wondered if he could really go through with this.

Gennai knew that the Digidestined were "expendable."They were easily replaced.His job, however, as their guardian, as the guardian of the dimensions, was not to be taken so lightly.The Guardians could care less for the Chosen Children; it was only the Tag Tamers and the Travelers who concerned them.So what was so special about these Japanese kids, then?

They had been chosen over all other Digidestined—American, African, Philippine, English, Argentine—to determine the fate of both worlds not once, but now three times.Ken, TK, and Kari were special cases.They were all powerful allies and potential threats to the Guardians' cause, but why were the others necessary?Tai, Izzy, Matt, Davis, Cody: all of them were being called upon in some form or another to champion the cause.The so-called new Digidestined were required to receive the Blessing.The original children acted as their reference source and would also be called upon when the time was right.Yet no other Children were called upon to serve as they were.Curious.Perhaps his superiors were becoming fond of their "pets."Or perhaps they were all merely a means to end that they could neither see nor comprehend.

"Hmph."Gennai snorted without amusement.All this time, and he still cared for questions with no answers.There were, of course, answers, but it was highly doubtful that he would ever be privy to them.He just wished that it didn't make his job so damn hard . . . And today he was going to have to do probably the hardest thing he'd ever done.

If the Chosen passed, they would be safe and everything would be well again.That was what Gennai wanted more than anything else in any world.He wanted his young charges to be safe, if only for an instant.But if even one of them failed, there was a risk that everything they had worked so hard for would come crashing down on top of them.The load was heavy enough to crush everything.Gennai wanted them to succeed.He wanted them all to live happily ever after.But Gennai also had the sinking feeling that he wouldn't get what he wanted—he didn't really deserve that much from life.

Human voices floated through the air and past him and Gennai followed the sound to see the Digidestined gathered at a table in front of what appeared to be a café.So the Guardians were right.They were meeting here . . . With a twinge of guilt, the traveler hid himself in enclave of a small red house where he could still see and hear the Digidestined without being discovered.The children sat in the shade of a canopy spread outside of a café run by Digi Tomamon.They were gathered around a circular table and apparently waiting for someone.He heard Yolei say the word "Ken" and saw Kari grow agitated.The servant of the Guardians frowned and leaned forward._What is this? _

**************

Takeru TK Takaishi watched Kari with worry.The brown-haired girl had dark circles forming beneath her eyes and she appeared paler than normal.When Kari had called this meeting, TK had been curious, but when he heard that Ken was to be involved his worry had turned to anxiety.There was something odd about the Ichijouji boy that TK couldn't figure out, something that drew him to the scary young man.

"So where is Ken at, anyway?" demanded Yolei in typical Yolei fashion."Is he even coming?"

"I don't know."Kari made an odd fluttering motion with her hands."He'll come, though.He's got to come."

"How do you know?" TK asked with a small frown."I'm not so sure Ken will come.I mean, if I got attacked every time met with someone I'd stop coming.Why should he show?"

"He'll come," said Kari with an insistent shake of her head.

"Yeah, so lay off, TP!" snapped Davis protectively.

TK scowled at the ground and contracted his brows darkly. For some reason, Davis's overprotective instincts towards Ken were even more irritating than his overprotective instincts towards Kari.Of course, Davis was just irritating in general.Still, TK wondered if he would be able to tolerate the shorter boy for much longer, especially if—no, when—Ken decided to join them. 

The blond stood."I'm going for a walk."

Kari stopped her fluttering and looked up sharply."Whe--"

"Don't worry."He made a small dismissive gesture with his hand and offered her a forced half smile."I just need to stretch my legs.I'll even keep a look out for Ken."

Kari frowned for a brief instant and then smiled again."Do you want company?"

"No; I'm fine.Besides, I've got Patamon." 

"Okay . . . But be careful."

"Don't worry," chirped Patamon as he flew after his partner."We'll be fine."

Davis watched the two figures as they vanished into the village."What got into TJ?"

"Can't you be serious for five minutes, Davis?"Cody asked looking irritated.

"What'd I do?!"

"Don't whine."Yolei adjusted her glasses."Besides, am I the only person who is dying to know what's going on here?"

"Yeah, Kari," Davis asked, "What's up?"

"We have to wait for Ken."

"But I wanna know now!"

Yolei flipped her hair out f her face."Oh, chill out, Davis."

"Like you should be talking—"

"Hey, look!" interrupted Cody."Who's that?"

The others all turned to see a tall young human wearing a white cloak and hood fringed with brown.He walked towards them confidently, the edges of his cloak flared out around him.The Digidestined stood and stared openly.

Yolei was the first to find her voice."What's another human doing in the Digital World?Is he one of us?"

"Actually," replied the mysterious young man, "I don't think that I would exactly qualify as a human . . . and I'm definitely no Digidestined."

Kari's eyes narrowed and then widened in recognition."Gennai?"

"Right again, Kari!"The man flipped off his hood to reveal a shock of soft brown hair and a pair of laughing blue eyes set in a pleasant weathered face.A queue of hair fell down his back and beneath his robes he wore a black turtleneck."Hello, children."

Yolei looked from Kari's grin to Gennai's eyes and blinked in confusion."Um . . . pardon me for being rude but . . . who are you?" 

Kari slipped up from the table and went to embrace the new arrival."This," she explained, "is Gennai.He's an old friend."She stopped a moment and stared at the older man with narrowed eyes."Of course, I remember him being a much older friend back in those days."

Gennai laughed."Yes, it's simply amazing what those new exfoliates can do for the skin."

"Oh, I know you!" said Davis with the air of one who had just stumbled onto something spectacular."Tai told me about you!You're the little guy with all the funky riddles, aren't you?"

"Well, that's not exactly an accurate description, but I guess it'll have to do."

"Yes," said Cody with a nod."Izzy told me about you, too."

Yolei frowned and then stomped her foot, clenched her fists, and looked up at the sky."Am I the only one here who doesn't spend all my time with the older kids?!"

Cody regarded his friend impassively for a moment."Chill out, Yolei."

"Actually," responded Gennai, "It's just as well that the you're all so close, because I've come to give you all a task and you'll probably be needing some of their experience."

"What do you mean?" asked Kari.

"We should wait for Ken and TK before we start.Do you know where they are?"

"Ken should be on his way and TK went for a walk."

Cody looked at Gennai thoughtfully, briefly reminding the traveler of Izzy.His smooth green eyes absorbed the older man dispassionately."Are you saying that this 'task' will involve Ken, too?"The boy did not look thrilled by the prospect.

Gennai nodded a bit sadly."Yes, especially Ken."

Kari stiffened and felt suddenly cold."What do you mean?"

"I . . ." he paused, hesitating.". . . You are all in very grave danger."

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**_ATTN READERS:_**** Do you guys want to see Kensuke, Kenkeru, or no love interest? Please tell me in a review.I'll take the majority vote.** Sorry, but there will be no Kenlei.

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	14. A New Education and Some Rather Merited ...

For They Shall Be Filled

**For They Shall Be Filled******

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) ****

**__________________________________________________________**

Sinister: They have all been kind enough to attach Ms. Vain to the ceiling so I'm doing this again.

Kaiser: Would you just shut up and get to the point!She has more Digimon fan fiction to dictate!And this time I am going to win instead of that coward Ken!

Vain: Hey, you're not even in "For They Shall Be Filled!"You're just a part of Ken's psyche!

Kaiser: Silence, fool!*cracks whip*

Vain: *whimpers*

Remy: . . . Mebbe we take dat whip from him, non?

Ken: You don't think I'm a coward, do you, Wormmon?Sam?

Sinister: Read the fiction and review it.Now.

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**_~And because lawlesssness will abound, the love of many will grow cold._**

**_But he who endures to the end shall be saved._****__**

**-Matthew 24: 12 and 13**

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Part Thirteen

TK walked slowly with his head down frowning as Patamon buzzed around chattering about something or another._Davis and Kari.Davis and Kari.Davis and Kari . . . When is she going to stop playing with him?It's not nice . . . Davis and Kari.Davis and Kari.Davis and Ken.Davis and Ken . . . Whoa!Now where did that come from?!_

He abruptly stopped and Patamon flew into his head."Ouch!TK!What is it?What's wrong?"

"Hmm?Oh, I don't know.Nothing, I guess."

"Nothing?"The little cream and orange colored digimon rubbed his head and pouted."It sure didn't feel like nothing."

"I'm sorry, pal.I'm just distracted by stuff."

"Like what?"

The Child of Hope sighed."Kari and Davis."

"I thought that you and Kari decided to just be friends."

"Well, we did, but sometimes I just get the feeling that she's only playing with Davis; and that she's using me to do it.I just think that that's . . . I don't know; shady, I guess.I mean it's just not right."

"Hmph."Patamon frowned in a digimon sort of way and then fluttered into his partner's arms."Well, then, why don't you talk to her about it?You two are best friends, so why don't you just talk about it?"

"I don't know.I just . . . It's none of my business, I suppose.And plus there's . . . other stuff."

"Oh," Patamon pressed his little paws against TK's chest and looked up into his partner's face innocently, "you mean like Ken?"

TK paled and then blushed and then paled beneath his blush."Oh, I—I . . . There's no—I didn't . . . It . . . How did . . .?"

Patamon giggled."You talk in your sleep.So what's up with Ken?"

". . . I wish I knew.It's funny.I feel . . . _connected_ to him.Like with Kari, but it's a little different.Kari says she feels the same thing."

The digimon furrowed his brow as he stared up at his partner in concern."Could it be his Crest?"

"Kindness?I don't know," the boy shrugged moodily."Maybe."

"Then why don't you go talk to _him_?"

"Because, well—well, he's—he's Ken.That's not the kind of person that you just talk to.I don't know; it's just complicated." 

"Why?You can go talk to him right now, in fact."

"Huh?" TK looked around in confusion but saw only trees and grass."What are you talking about, Patamon?"

Patamon closed his eyes and tilted his head back."I can smell them.He and Wormmon are just beyond that grove of trees."He used his right wing to point towards a stand of trees not far off.

"Are you sure?"

"Hey, the nose knows.Or would you rather trust that dinky little thing attached to _your_ head?Come on!"

"Hey, wait up!"TK yelped as his partner took wing towards the trees."Patamon, slow down!"

"Hurry up!"

"Patamon,wait u—"

TK stopped and screeched to a halt when he cleared the trees.Sitting Indian-style in the grass was Ken Ichijouji.The former tyrant sat totally still in his typical gray pants and a black short sleeve shirt.His eyes were closed and his head was bowed over his partner who lay asleep in his lap.They both appeared to be exhausted.Wormmon shifted in Ken's embrace and the pale boy's eyes fluttered.For an instant it looked as though the pair would awaken, but exhaustion won out and they were still once again. 

Patamon was circling the air four feet above them.He grinned broadly at his partner as he escaped the brush and asked in a loud whisper, "Aren't they just so cute when they're asleep?"

TK briefly wondered what Ken's reaction would be to being called "cute" and quickly decided that it wouldn't be worth getting the crap beat out of him to find out.

On cue, the former Emperor's eyes fluttered once more and then opened all the way.He blinked rapidly for a moment and then half turned to gaze at TK with empty gemstone eyes.The blond boy felt a chill go through him as he stared into the blank depths of Ken's eyes.It was almost as though he was staring directly into the other boy's soul—and all he could see was utter emptiness.It frightened him.

Ken's voice sounded dead."You lost?"

"Me?"TK felt suddenly confused and off-balance."No . . . er . . . I . . ."

"Articulate as ever, Digidestined."

TK winced."Sorry.I guess I'm just not quite with it today."

Ken regarded him coolly for a moment, expressionless mask back on his face."It's alright."

"I'm T.K."

"I know."

". . ."

"So is T.K. your full name?"

The blond looked down at Ken in surprise.The young genius still kept his back to him and his shoulders remained defensively stiff."No, it's, um, Takeru."

"Takeru . . . That's a nice name."

The taller boy sat down next to Ken and felt Patamon settle on his head.He stared out over the field and tried to ignore the feeling of those sapphire eyes boring into him.He regarded the scenery with detached interest and took in the torn grass and Ken's bloodied shirt lying a few yards to the side.Apparently, there had been a fight here not too long ago.

TK slid his eyes over to the other boy.". . . So . . . how're you feeling?"

"Like shit."

"Oh.Um . . . so what have you been up to?"

"School.Soccer.Interviews.Stuff."

". . ."

The silence stretched on for an uncomfortable eternity and TK began to squirm.Finally, he could take it no longer."Look, I can leave if you want me to."

"No . . . I . . ." Ken trailed off uncertainly.Then he bowed his head and shook it, allowing his fantastic indigo hair to fall down, hiding his expression."No, you don't have to.I . . .I am an idiot sometimes.I'm still learning, you see."

TK was silent as he watched the pale boy's internal struggle with something that he wasn't sure he wanted to imagine.Abruptly he smiled; Ken was a lot like Matt in some ways.They could be very good friends."It's okay, you know.I mean to screw up.Even I've done it on occasion."TK cleared his throat loudly and began to study the grass."I'm sorry, by the way."

Ken blinked."For what?Kicking my ass?"

"Um . . . yeah.What I did at your base—I was out of line back there."

"Hmph," a pale hand waved away the comment."I deserve worse."

"Still, it wasn't right."

A slight half-smile tugged on the other's face."Right?You're odd, Takeru."

TK felt a thrill at hearing his given name emerge from Ken's mouth and he ducked his head to hide his blush."There was a fight?"

". . . Yes.Wormmon's exhausted."

"Are you feeling alright?"

"As well as I ever am."

Suddenly Patamon fluttered his wings loudly, startling them both."The others!We're late!"

Ken looked down at his digivice and then stood, careful not to disturb his slumbering partner.He cursed in irritation."I fell asleep!"

TK also stood."Hey, it's not your fault.Relax.I doubt that the others will care.C'mon; let's not keep them waiting any longer."

Ken turned around and looked at the other boy suspiciously."Why are you being so nice to me?"

"I don't know.I guess I kinda get the impression that you're not used to it."TK watched as Ken's blue-violet eyes blinked rapidly, unable to discern what emotions the pale boy was experiencing.

Ken shook his head again in an attempt to organize his thoughts."We should go."

"Yeah . . ."

Patamon flew overhead and watched the two boys as they made their way back to the village in silence.Maybe he'd talk to Wormmon after the virus digimon woke up and ate.Perhaps the two of them could figure out what to do with their humans; after all, if it wasn't for their digimon, humans would no doubt fall apart at the seams.The little vaccine wondered absently how humans without partners managed.No matter, though, he had his hands full enough with just his child.He couldn't handle another one—no digimon could.

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	15. The Fool Who Follows the Fool

For They Shall Be Filled

**For They Shall Be Filled******

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 

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Osamu: **Votes for couples are no longer being accepted as of 7/23/2001.Diaken won, but for the sake of everyone, this fic will essentially be non-coupled.**Although Vain is not beyond tossing out a few hints for the sequel . . . 

Ken:You do know that that's not a word, right?

Osamu:Sequel?

Ken:Non-coupled.

Osamu:Hey which one of us is the genius?!Anyway, thank you everyone who voted and reviewed especially Soulfull Ishida, DigimonDragonLady, many thanks to GSYH, Mink (who Vain LOVES), Dreamersday, ShiniJekka, and Athena (Vain said that there was a mention of oatmeal cookies at some point in time?????).

Ken: *sigh* Just so you know, there may be a sequel to this in the work (if you want it) and Vain already has a Kenkeru/Taken in mind.A Kensuke/Diaken (actually, an **authorized** sequel to another story) may be coming along depending on what Phoenix of the Blood Red Mars says about it after it's written.And all the next fics will be using Japanese names.…You know guys, I'm kind of starting to feel like a slut.

Wormmon:I still respect you, Ken-chan.

Osamu:Where's the Kaiser?

Ken: I left him alone with Vain.Why?

Osamu:Alone?

Ken:Sinister and Remy were there.. . . That's a bad thing, isn't it?

Wormmon:Ummm . . . Read and Review please.

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**_~For by your words you will be justified, _**

**_and by your words you will be condemned._****__**

**-Matthew 12: 37**

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**Part Fourteen**

"Kari!"

The younger Yagami looked away from Gennai in surprise."Hey, look, everybody.It's TK!And he's got Ken!"

The other Digidestined turned away from Gennai to where the two children and their digimon were coming towards them through the village.TK was in the lead followed by a rather grouchy looking Ken.Patamon fluttered in his usual place over TK's head, sometimes widening his circle to include Ken.As for the boy genius, he was walking with his head down and his hair in his face.Wormmon slept gently cradled in his arms.Oddly enough, the violet-haired boy was without his ever-present Tamachi jacket and wore instead a black short-sleeved tee shirt.The stark contrast in colors made the gray lines of his pants appear less severe and enhanced the natural paleness of his skin.All in all, the effect produced was rather flattering. The slight scowl on his face, however, was not.

Kari left the others behind and half ran, half walked to meet the two boys.She came to a stop shortly in front of them and smiled at TK in greeting.Her friend gave her a smile and she then turned her attention to Ken.She smiled at him in spite of her internal wince at the sight of the dark smudges beneath his eyes."Hey, Ken."

The other boy dipped his head in greeting."Yagami."

Kari's brown eyes flicked to TK, silently pleading for privacy.He smiled his understanding and waved to his partner."C'mon Patamon."

Ken's brows contracted slightly as he watched TK walk away.The he turned back to Kari, a hidden fire flashing in his eyes."You wanted to talk to me for a reason.What is it?"

Kari swallowed hard.Suddenly this didn't seem like such a good idea."How are you doing?"

Ken narrowed his eyes."The others are waiting, Yagamiya."He went past her and began to walk away.

"How have you been sleeping, Ken?"

He stopped, back stiffening.

"I said: how have you been sleeping?"

He lowered his head and turned slightly to face her."What does it matter to you?"

"I've been dreaming, Ken."

He took a step towards her, suddenly angry."And what of it?!I don't care, Yagami!You called me here for a reason and I seriously doubt that it was so you could be cryptic and play head games with me.Why?What's happening?"

"I've been dreaming about _you_, Ken.You and . . ."She trailed off and looked away, afraid.

He looked at her intently.When he spoke his voice was a whisper."The Black Ocean."

Kari nodded miserably."Yes.Am I in your dreams, Ken?"

"I . . . I don't know."

His admission made her look as though she was going to cry."Why not?"

"I can't remember them."He pursed his lips pensively and scowled at the ground.Wormmon shifted and his blue eyes fluttered open.

The little virus twisted in his human's arms and stretched, opening his mandible wide as he yawned.He blinked sleepily."Ken?What's going on?"

The boy genius smiled at his partner."It's nothing, my friend."He knelt and released Wormmon gently to the ground."Go wait with the others; we'll be along shortly."

The digimon eyed his partner for a moment before doing as he was told.Ken straightened and caught Kari's questioning look.

"He worries," the pale boy explained with a shrug.

"How did you know the dreams were of the Dark Ocean?" Kari asked in response.

"Because they're more than dreams, aren't they?"

The Child of Light looked away guiltily and Ken smirked in triumph.

"I don't know," Kari said softly."I had hoped they weren't, but I think . . . Yes, they're real."

"Hmph.So, what am I doing in these dreams of yours?"

"I—Gennai's here, Ken.We're all in great danger."

"Gennai?" Ken blinked in confusion at the sudden change in subject."Who's Gennai?"The boy then shook his head and glared at her coldly, frustrated by her evasion."And what does that have to do with me?"

"You're in danger, too.These dreams—I think they're warnings.I—"

"Hey, Kari!" Davis's voice sliced through the air."Will you two hurry it up?Gennai's running out of time!"

Ken looked at her and smiled unpleasantly."They're calling for you, Child of the Light."

She glared at him, angry at the shields he put up around himself and angry with herself for not knowing the right things to say to him.She grabbed his wrist in a surprisingly firm grip."C'mon," she ordered, dragging him forward."There're some things you need to hear."

**********************

Cody frowned as Kari came forward, hauling Ken along behind her.The Tamachi born genius looked slightly amused, as though it was beyond conception that someone would manhandle him in such a fashion.

_Figures_, thought the Child of Reliability and Knowledge with a dark and troubled expression on his face. 

Ken came to an abrupt halt as he looked at Gennai, his eyes narrowing in a fashion that the Digidestined recognized as dangerous due to prior experience.Kari was caught off guard by the sudden action and stumbled forward slightly, almost falling.

"Hello, Ken," Gennai said in a soft voice.

The pale boy glared at him hatefully.Gennai didn't appear to notice."It's been a long time."

". . . Not long enough!" Ken spat with venom in his voice. 

The other children were shocked by the vehement hatred in the former tyrant's tone.Images of the Emperor flashed through their minds and their digimon rose to stand defensively before their children.Wormmon heaved a sigh that seemed to come from the ground and his antennae drooped.He puttered his way over to stand at his partner's feet.

"Ken," he begged urgently, "Please . . ."

The boy ignored him, never taking his eyes off of Gennai.

For his part, the traveler regarded Ken with similar intensity, but his eyes showed sadness instead of rage.He sighed heavily."Fair enough.That's really no less than I deserve, I suppose, but now there are other things to worry about."

"Oh?" asked Ken haughtily, flicking indigo hair from his eyes."And why should I trust you?"

"Because you don't really have much choice."

"There are always choices, old man.Or is it Gennai now?I hear that's what you call yourself these days." 

"Still so angry Ken?I don't pretend to deserve your forgiveness or understanding, but at least listen to what I have to say."

"And what do _you_ have to say that could interest _me_, oh Great and All Knowing Wise One?"

Gennai's head jerked up and for an instant the Digidestined thought he would strike the dark-haired boy."Now you're just not being fair, Ken.Granted, errors were made—"

"Errors?" the boy exploded."_Errors_?!You got him killed!You got them killed.That is NOT going to happen to me!"

"There are worse things than death, Little Boy Emperor, as you well know.You've meted out enough suffering to understand that!" snapped Gennai in reply, losing his temper at last."You should know that better than anybody.Ryou taught you better.So did Osamu."Ken flinched visibly at the names, pain dancing across his porcelain features."I knew that this wouldn't be easy on you, Ken.And maybe it shouldn't be."

The boy went so pale that Cody imagined he could almost see the genius's veins pulsing blue beneath his skin."How dare you judge me!What gives you the right!?Who gave you the right to just come waltzing back into our lives?"

"You already know the answer to that question, Ken."

Abruptly, a loud quavering voice interrupted the arguing pair."Stop it now!"

All eyes snapped to the ground to find a quivering Wormmon standing between Ken and Gennai.The small virus turned his brilliant eyes to Ken's darkened violet ones and the expression on his face was enough to break even the hardest of hearts."It's not right, Ken-chan.To argue like this . . . It's not right."

Ken stiffened and his angry eyes were immediately replaced by an expressionless mask.Gennai flushed slightly and began to study the ground intently.Silence came crashing to the ground and the air seemed to thicken.

Davis broke the stillness with his usual tact."Man, you two must really hate each other's guts!"

Yolei's eyes widened behind her thick glasses and Kari paled.TK blushed and began to rapidly shake his head in disbelief.Cody felt his cheeks flush what was undoubtedly a lovely dusky red as Davis looked from face to face in confusion."What?" he demanded innocently."What'd I do?"

Ken looked at him in surprise for a moment and blinked rapidly.His temper was already severely irritated and the last things on his mind were Crests and Traits.Without thinking, he immediately voiced the first thought that popped into his head."You have got to be the simplest person that I have ever met in my life."

Davis flushed and instantly threw out his chest like a peacock, pride wounded."Oh, yeah?Well, I beat you, didn't I?What does that say about you then, Ichijouji?"

For the third time that day, Ken stiffened in angry surprise and felt his temper begin to slip out of control.Fortunately, being a conqueror, absolute dictator, and famous genius had its advantages, and some of them were having an iron will and the ability to bend his emotions to serve that will.Therefore, instead of reaching for the whip that he still carried safely hidden in his bag, he simply gave Davis one of the infamous "Ichijouji Stares of Death" that he had mastered so long ago.The expression, while not actually doing anything, somehow managed to transmit exactly what he was thinking to Davis Motomiya's brain and this consisted of many colorful and rather horrific images of Davis's painful demise.The goggle-boy shied back like a startled horse and raised his hands defensively.

"Stop it, you two," snapped Kari, instantly recalling sanity to the gathering."We are not here to fight.Haven't you had enough of fighting yet?"This last bit was directed at Ken.

The "Rocket" stared at her expressionlessly for a moment then turned his flat blue-purple eyes to Gennai who was regarding the entire situation with a sinking heart.If Ken was aware of the emotions running through the traveler, he gave no indications of it and instead, for the third time that day posed the question which no one had yet answered."You're here for a reason, are you not?"He continued without waiting for Gennai's reply."Well, then, what do you want?"

Gennai looked into Ken's intense eyes and frowned slightly._The Guardian Beasts are wrong!This is not the right way to go about this.This will not save the Children . . . This will not save the once Emperor._He sighed sadly and gently bit the tip of his tongue._It must be done, though._He had to do his duty regardless of his misgivings.Regardless of his feelings.

"Please," he began softly, "sit down, all of you."

"Davis," protested Veemon, "Will this take long?I'm hungry!"

"Pipe down," retorted Patamon from TK's hat.

"I think you better stay.This sounds like it'll be important," Davis said with a sigh of defeat.

"I think Davis is right," Kari offered a smile in condolence.

Wormmon turned his large blue eyes to her curiously."Is this why you called Ken here?"

Amber colored eyes blinked."What?"

The virus pulled himself up to stand of his six back legs, front four extended in explanation."You called Ken-chan and I here, remember?Did you just want him to hear what Gennai had to say?"

"No; I wanted to talk about the Dark Ocean."The Child of Light turned to Gennai in confusion."How did you know we'd be here, Gennai?"

"I've been watching you since you arrived in the Digital World at the behest of the so-called Powers That Be.Did you say you were here to discuss the Dark Ocean?"

Ken's mouth twitched upwards to a smirk."Yeah, it's a real hot conversation piece.What do you think, Gennai?"He made the name sound like a curse.

A small muscle in Gennai's cheek jumped, but he remained calm."Sit down and maybe I'll tell you." 

There was a whisper of movement as they all settled themselves.Veemon and Davis were already seated, as were Yolei, Cody, and their respective Digimon.Gennai settled himself comfortably on a wicker chair.Kari gently picked up Gatomon from the chair she'd been warming and held the digimon in her lap.TK sat on the table with Patamon happily seated on his head.Wormmon settled himself contentedly in Ken's lap as the dark-eyed boy sat in a chair as far from the others as possible without actually detaching himself from the group.While his features were totally blank, suspicion clouded his eyes and leaked out into his body language.

Gennai could tell that Ken had no intention of playing along with him on this._Perfect_, the traveler thought in disgust.He waited until they were comfortable before beginning his tale."Earlier today I met with the Guardians of the Digital World.They informed me that the inter-dimensional barriers were weakening and it will soon be possible for certain creatures to travel between worlds . . . and to remain away from their own."

Cody frowned in confusion."What do you mean?Are you saying that our world is in danger?"

"Your world, the Digital World, all worlds.There are certain beings in who are attempting to take advantage of this situation.For the majority of them, their efforts will be in vain.However, there is one creature that can and will succeed if given the opportunity.He is your enemy now."

Ken tilted his head to the side, mind hard at work.Gennai's words stirred something buried deep within him . . . something familiar."Who is he?"

"He has no name and his form has not been seen in either of our worlds since the original Digidestined banished him to the world he has corrupted and now rules."

"You mean Tai and the others?" asked Davis.

"No," replied the traveler."The group in which you two," here he nodded towards Kari and TK, "and your brothers traveled is a different group of Chosen Children, not the first.The first group of Children—the bearers of the original nine Crests—were the ones to banish him and seal him from the Digital World and your own.Now, though, time and the growing darkness in both worlds have helped him erode the bonds keeping him in place.He blames the two worlds for his punishment—and the Digidestined for his torment."Gennai stopped and closed his eyes briefly in pain."The Dark One is mad.His mind has been twisted by his power and ambitions.And both have grown since his exile."

"This world," asked Kari in a hesitant voice, "the one to where he's trapped . . . What world is it?"

Gennai turned to her and was silent for a moment."An accident.It is called the Dark World or the Dark Dimension, although originally it was neither.The plane where he now resides was originally a bridge that physically linked the Digital World and your own world . . . kind of like the center square of an intersection: it didn't really belong to either world.Because it was a place of power, this area was deemed best to isolate him and his followers there, nearly two hundred digimon and one human, and cut that part of the worlds away. This is why the only ways to access the Digital or Real Worlds are through a computer, Digivice, or to carry a part of the essence of Digital World within you."

A dark frown dashed across Ken's face before being swallowed once more by his typical mask._To carry a part of the Digital World within you . . .?_

"The Internet and the lines of electronic communication remain between the two worlds, tethering the one to the other.The bridge itself now floats in the form of an island surrounded by water, just out of synch with the worlds.It is known to you, I believe, as the Dark Ocean."

Kari paled and TK bit his lower lip.Ken remained expressionless."So what does any of this have to do with us?"  
  


"You—all of you—must be protected.The Dark Undersea Master, as he is called by his servants, knows of you and recognizes you as his only real obstacles to his return to both worlds."

"And why precisely must we halt his return?"

Everyone's head snapped away from Gennai to stare at Ken in shock.

"Have you lost it?" demanded Yolei, too appalled to be angry."This guy is bad news—"

"I am merely questioning the wisdom of leaping before we look," said Ken in a voice that would have been a hiss if he hadn't sounded so cold."Or are you still tampering with things that you do not understand?If there is a battle coming, it will not be the same as fighting me."He turned his eyes to Kari."It will not even be the same as fighting the Dark Masters.This . . . this could mean something else entirely."

Kari shivered as her dream came back in a vivid flash_."This could mean nothing or everything.It all depends on what Kenny-boy wants to do.Or what you and the other Digidestined allow him to do . . . Will you permit him to do what is necessary?"_

Gennai interrupted the two before Yolei could come up with a retort that she considered Ken-worthy."He wants to break you," the de-aged man said softly."He wants to destroy you and bring you to him—to his darkness.It seems as though you are doing a pretty fair job of yourselves."

The children all hung their heads in shame.Except Ken Ichijouji, that is."You never answered my question.Why should we fight your battle for you?"

This time Gennai refused to back down before that unforgiving gaze."Because you are all the Digidestined.Because the Dark Undersea Master will destroy you no matter what you do.Because there is no one else who can."

TK shook himself out of his stupor.Ken had said leaping before "we" look . . .The blond turned to Gennai."What about the Guardians?"

The older man shook his head."They can't even help save themselves.They are locked away beyond both worlds and cannot intervene directly in the affair of any world save the one where they now reside."

Cody frowned._That just doesn't add up._"Why are they locked away?"

"I would tell you if I knew myself."

The small boy blinked, startled by the traveler's response.

Davis, who had been silent for far too long (at least for him), frowned as something rather disturbing occurred to him.He sounded strangely serious putting his concern for the team ahead of everything else."What did you mean when you said he'd take us into his darkness or something?"

The small soccer player watched in wry amusement as Gennai looked startled that he had caught that bit if information and inwardly smiled to himself.So Gennai hadn't thought that he was paying attention, huh?A flicker caught his eye and Davis turned slightly to see Ken watching him, his eyes glittering with . . . approval?Respect?Davis wasn't sure, but he felt relieved that the former despot was no longer angry with him for putting his foot in his mouth._One way or the other, Ken, you'll see that we're right.You will join us and accept our friendship . . . and our forgiveness.No matter what. _

Gennai's voice stirred him from his thoughts."In his mind, you are much more valuable alive and fighting for him than you are dead."_Well_, amended the traveler silently, _at least three of you are, anyway._"However, if he cannot turn you to darkness through some means or another, he will destroy you."

Davis did not like the sound of that at all."But you can help us right?" he asked nervously."I mean if this guy's so powerful, you'll help protect us from this darkness, right?"

Ken felt the edge of is lip twitch in an attempt to sneer and firmly schooled his features.He had already caused enough problems among the Digidestined today by not keeping a tight rein on his darker impulses; there was no need to go out of his way to inflict further damage.

Gennai remained oblivious to the genius's struggle with his "other side."His voice held a hint of a smile as he offered comfort to the leader of the new Digidestined Children."Actually, yes.The Guardians sent me here to inform you that you are to receive the Blessing of the Light."

"You hear that, Kari?" Davis cut him off eagerly."You get to bless me!"

Kari blushed, smiled thinly and shifted uncomfortably.She looked over to TK for help, but her best friend was watching Ken with a deep frown of concern on his face.The Child of Light wondered if he was paying any attention to Gennai at all.

Gennai chuckled faintly at Motomiya's enthusiasm._Ah, to be young and in love . . ._"I'm afraid that it's not from Kari, though, Davis."

"Oh."For a moment the boy looked crestfallen.Then he brightened a bit as he thought of something that would offer him solace."But it will still work, right?" 

"Of course," the other said, still smiling.

"So what's the catch?" asked Ken, his smooth voice cut through the relaxed atmosphere like a knife.

Gennai's smile faded as he turned to face the living and very dangerous reminder of his failure as the boy's cold violet eyes tore through him."Catch?"

A nasty smirk slid onto Ken's face."Oh come now, Gennai," he chided, enjoying his former mentor's discomfort."You and your precious Guardians never give anything away for free."

The older man sighed and prayed for the strength to survive the eternal and implacable wrath of Ken Ichijouji while simultaneously cursing both the boy's quick wits and his own stupidity."You must be tested.Should you pass, you will be granted the Blessing.It will shield your souls from darkness and protect your digimon from being corrupted as well."

"And if we fail?"

". . . Then you are not worthy."

Yolei looked from Gennai to Ken and then back to Gennai again."What's on this test?"

The guardian of the Digidestined shook his head."It was not given to me to know."

Silence descended once more over the Digidestined as they absorbed all that had just been said.Somewhere in town, they could hear digimon laughing and playing.The village digimon had given them a wide berth since Gennai's appearance.Even time itself, it seemed, held its breath as the Children each decided on his or her own course of action.

Davis stood abruptly."So, when do we leave?"

Gennai looked from face to face, eyes resting briefly on Ken who sat apart from the others."Is this what you all want?Understand what you're saying, children: you could die.There are worlds resting on your shoulders."

"Hey" said Davis with a slight frown, "don't you believe in us?We're the Digidestined; impossible is on the resume!"

"I'm with you," declared Yolei, also standing."After all, it is our destiny and everything, right?"She extended her hand."All for one."

Davis smiled and put his hand on top of hers."And one for all."

Cody's small hand joined the little stack."Well, somebody's got to keep you two out of trouble."

Kari stood and placed her hand on theirs."Just another day in paradise, right TK?"

The blond grinned at his best friend and placed his hand atop hers."Right."

Suddenly five gazes shifted to Ken Ichijouji.The boy remained seated and regarded them all the way someone looks at insects that they're debating on squashing.TK watched the violet-eyed boy with apprehension and Davis felt a stab of fear.Kari felt both emotions, but they weren't because of Ken; rather, it was because of the figure she saw standing behind him and leaning down to whisper something in his left ear.It was Osamu Ichijouji.

Something disturbed the smooth expressionless mask of Ken's face, but slid away before it could be identified and settled into his depthless eyes.Finally the pale boy shrugged as though losing an argument with himself and stood.Behind him, Kari saw Osamu straighten wearing a small sad smile.Ken strode over to the waiting Digidestined and raised his arm.Then he hesitated.He turned and addressed Gennai wearing a slight frown."Don't think that this is for you, old man.This is merely a means to my own ends."

Gennai nodded.He hadn't really expected anything less.

Ken's hand settled on TK's with a light and steady pressure.The Child of Hope looked at him with a gentle smile of welcome.Ken looked away, feeling suddenly confused by the warmth that smile sent through him.He didn't feel the slight flush in his cheeks.Kari watched the exchange in puzzlement for a moment and then offered Ken a smile of her own, although this one was filled with a self-satisfaction that the boy couldn't quite place.

"Welcome to the team, Ken," Davis declared wearing a patented Davis grin.

In spite of himself, Ken felt a small smile blossom on his own lips as Davis placed a weathered hand atop his."Thank you."

The Children all stood there for a long moment basking in their combined strength and Ken took the opportunity to study his new "leader."Davis's eyes were chocolate brown and shone with life and confidence.He looked like he could take on the world at that moment.He looked like he could win.Ken had never been face with such innocence before—such naivety.

Gods, they were all going to die.

Then Ken's smile broadened to a full-blown smirk.A memory stirred within him. Sam had been watching Star Wars one day in the living room and Ken remembered something one of the characters had said: "Who's more foolish: the fool, or the fool who follows the fool?"

_Ah, what the hell. . . This might even be fun . . . Besides, what have I got to lose; I'm already dead._

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**Votes for couples are no longer being accepted as of 7/23/2001.Diaken won, but for the sake of everyone, this fic will essentially be non-coupled.**

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	16. The Coming Storm

For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) ****

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Ken:Hey, Remy.Where's Vain?

Remy: Wasn't my turn to watch her.Where'd yo grand frere go, cher?

Ken:*shrugs*I'm not sure, he just grabbed Wormmon and left.Something about Athena and oatmeal cookies . . .

Remy:Ah . . .By de way, I _really_ t'ink that we should take dat whip from de Kaiser, frere.

Ken:I don't know—he really is rather fond of it.

Remy:Still, I really don' t'ink dat it be healt'y for Vain ta bleed dat much, cher.

Ken:*twitches*Bleeding?

Remy:Uh-huh.Where ya goin'?

Ken: VAIN!!!!!!

Remy:Dat probably was a bad t'ing. . . Vain owns rien, Shakespeare wrote de MacBeth soliloquy, et Ken uses de "f" word once, mais please read and review anyway . . . I should probably go help him . . .

Remy:*grins wickedly*. . . Course, dat doesn't mean I will.

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**_~"Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."_****__**

**-Matthew 12: 37**

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**Part Fifteen**

Outside the window the Odaiba sky was steel-gray and thunder boomed loudly.Rain had turned the red sunset black, but the wild-haired figure on the bed didn't notice.

_Many Worlds . . ._ Ever since returning from the Digital World, Davis's mind had been working rapidly on Gennai's revelations burning through him._I can't believe that there is so much more out there and NO ONE knows it.Man, I'll bet even real smart people like Ken don't have a clue._The thought of the dark-haired genius brought a smile to Davis's face._Finally.I knew that I could get him on our side_.The smile abruptly turned into a slight frown._I wish I knew what was up with him and T.V., _(A/n: T.K.)_ though._Then the frown vanished altogether._But hey, this could mean my chances with Kari are getting better!_

In reality, Davis didn't really think that he had any chances with the enchanting Child of Light, but, hey, a guy could dream, right?

The phone rang loudly downstairs.He heard Jun pick it up halfway through the ring."Hello, Matt?!"

Davis sighed and shook his head.He loved his sister, brat that she was, but sometimes she came on a bit . . . strong.Chibimon dug himself out of the mess on the foot of Davis's bed—a difficult thing to do without any arms—and yawned, his little mouth opening to fantastic proportions."I'm hungry Davish," the little creature announced in greeting.

The younger Motomiya grinned, the left side of his mouth sliding upward."You're always hungry," he protested halfheartedly.

"Says you!I'm a growing digimon!" 

"Humph," the Child of Courage eyed his fuzzy blue partner dubiously."You're gonna start growing the wrong way if you keep shoveling food down your hole like that."

"Shoveling?!"Chibi blushed purple."I do not shovel!Unlike you!"

"Oh, yeah—"

"DAVIS!!!!!!!" Jun shrieked, rudely interrupting his insult."I SAID 'COME GET THE PHONE!'IT'S CODY OR SOMEBODY!!!!!!"

"Alright; I'm coming!"He turned to his digimon."You want Oreos or Chips Ahoy?"

"Umm . . . Both!"

"You da 'mon!" Dais said laughingly as he left.

He ran downstairs and received the phone and a rather nasty look from his sister."What took you so long, squirt?Get into a fight with the voices in your head again?"

"Yeah," he retorted sharply, "we couldn't agree on where to hide your body."

"Oh, funny."

He grinned at her retreating back and lifted the phone to his mouth."Hey, Cody."

"Er—um . . .This is TK, Davis."

"Oh, hey P.K.What's up?"

The other boy sighed but didn't correct Davis; he knew a lost cause when he saw one."I talked to Matt, Tai, and my Dad.They all agreed to cover for us."

"Cool.So we're all going 'camping' again?"

"Yep.At least we have an extra-long weekend to blow this time."

"That's us: saving the worlds before bedtime."

"Um, Davis?"

"Yeah?"

"You watch _way_ too much T.V."

The brunette laughed good-naturedly."I am just trying to get my daily dose of radiation waves, thank you very much!"

". . . Right."

"So what did he say?"  
  
"Who?"

"Duh: Ken!What did you two talk about?"

"Why're you asking me?"

" . . . Look, T.K., I know that the others aren't real thrilled to have him around and Kari's . . . well, I kinda think that Kari's a little bit scared of him.You're the only one other than her who's really not freaking out over the whole thing, so I wanted to know what you think of him."

" . . ."

"You still alive over there?"

T.K. sighed into the phone."I don't know what to think.I do know that whether he wants to admit it or not, he needs our help."

"That's kinda what I thought too."

There was silence and it seemed to Davis as though they were each holding their breath almost afraid to ask the question on both their minds._Well, I'm not the Child of Courage for nothing . . ._ He took a deep breath."Do you think . . . I mean could he still be—er, um—evil?"

T.K. didn't answer immediately.Then: "I don't really know.I doubt that that's something that you can ever really just walk away from.Maybe he'll just have to learn how to carry the darkness with him.When we talked earlier today, he told me 'I'm still learning.'Maybe that's what he meant."

" . . ."

"You still there, Davis?"

"Yeah."

"Listen, why don't you call Yolei and Kari and I'll call Ken and Cody to tell them about the trip.You won't have any trouble getting your parents to say yes, will you?They'll believe you, right?"

"They never believe anything I say.Don't worry, though; I've got it covered."

"Cool.Do you know Ken's number?It's unlisted."

"Um-hmm.Hold on a minute; I think he's on my soccer list."There was silence followed by some shuffling of papers and some soft swearing."Got it," Davis declared triumphantly over the phone."Got a piece of paper?"

"Yeah; go ahead."

"687-555-8730." 

"Got it.Thanks, Davis."

"No problem, T.P."

" . . . Whatever.See you tomorrow.Don't forget we have a math test."

"Oh, joy," the other boy replied sourly."Later."Davis hung up. 

"What," demanded Jun, "was that all about?"

"Anyone ever tell you that it's rude to eavesdrop on people?"

"No.Besides, you're not a person, you're my brother: that's different.And you still didn't answer my question."

"That's because you're a pig."

Jun turned a fascinating shade of red."I am not!MOM!"

"I DID NOT!" Davis yelled in protest.He pushed past his sister and dashed towards the kitchen to recover the promised cookies for Chibimon.

"Davis, stop making fun of your sister!" Mrs. Motomiya yelled from the living room.

Davis responded by slipping from the kitchen back up the stairs and to his room where he was promptly pounced upon by a ravenous digimon.

"Whash tup?" Chibi asked, chocolate and crumbs distorting his words.

"We," declared Davis while swiping a handful of Oreos, "are going camping."

Chibi looked confused._What about meeting the others and saving the Digital World tomorrow?_Then he shrugged."Oh.OK."

All that yelling over camping?_Oh well_, thought the little blue digimon philosophically.If camping was what Davis wanted to do, then camping is what they would do.Still, Chibimon had to agree with Wormmon on that point: sometimes humans could be so weird . . .

**************

In Tamachi, the rain didn't just fall: it attacked the ground with a fury and deliberation unimagined in all the mythological hells of men.The torment and confusion of nature was reflected in the fragile looking person who walked unheeding through the onslaught, and while Ken was vaguely aware of the water assaulting his bare head, he simply could not bring himself to care that much.He walked the streets of Tamachi listlessly, oblivious to his surroundings.Thoughts swirled through his head chaotically and he made no effort to restore them to a semblance of order.The chaos prevented him from lingering on anything for very long.It was still long enough to brood, but it was only when he focused his brooding that he was dangerous—or at least more dangerous than usual.

Despite his best efforts to lose himself in a stream of consciousness, however, one thought insisted on continuously interrupting him: tomorrow.

_Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow _

Gennai had declared that the test was to be tomorrow.

_Creeps at this petty pace from day to day_

They all had to attend school first, of course—it was Friday, but after that . . . it was to begin—the "testing."

_Until all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. _

But tomorrow was something more, too.

_Out, out, brief candle.Life is but a walking shadow._

It was **_the_** day.

_A poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage_

It was The Anniversary.

_And then is heard no more._

Of all the days for Gennai to pick, he had chosen The Anniversary—that bastard.

_It is a tale told by an idiot,_

But it couldn't really be helped could it?There were worlds at stake, right?Right?

_Full of Sound and Fury_

The Anniversary . . .

_And signifying nothing._

_. . . Oniichan._

Ken came to a sudden halt and his head snapped up in surprise.Rain slid down his face carrying the scent of shampoo into his eyes.He absently brushed it aside with his hand and squinted at the sign above him. 

Tamachi Cemetery. 

Perhaps his wanderings hadn't been so aimless, after all.

After a moment of hesitation, he entered slowly.He knew the path by heart and had walked it numerous times, both awake and in his dreams.The farther into the cemetery he went, the less real the situation seemed to be.The rain didn't really seem to hit him and the ground rolled away faster than he was walking.The light was more silver than gray, catching the humid air and sending a thousand iridescent sparkles to him.

He knelt at the foot of the grave, neatly folded his hands, bowed his and began to speak in a dead, even voice."I didn't bring incense, Sam.I didn't bring a candle or a flower.Actually, I didn't really mean to come here at all, but it would have been rude not to stop in when I was so close.I haven't been here for a while and I'm sorry for that.Things . . . things got out of hand.I created a situation and lost control of it.What I've done . . . I am beyond forgiveness."

The younger Ichijouji stopped and let out a bitter bark of laughter.Still looking down, he tilted his head slightly and ran a hand uselessly through his rain-blackened hair."God, I'm turning into such a simpering twit.Is this who I was when you were alive, Sam?No wonder you despised me.It's funny, though; I can't really remember anything solid from the last few years.Not since that damnable digivice came from your computer."

He shook his head rapidly, flinging water back into the rain in a desperate attempt to unfocus himself once more.This line of thought could only lead to brooding."What's happening to me, Osamu?" Ken whispered in despair."Why do I feel so lost?Torn?Why do I feel like—"

The words lodged themselves in his throat and refused to be voiced.Saying them would make it real; make it something tangible that could consume him.But the thought could not be controlled and it slid through his mind like a snake through oil.

"Why do I feel—"_ Like I'm losing my mind._

Ken's head snapped up, face made ghastly pale by the unnatural light.His violet eyes stared straight ahead with a terrifying emptiness and absorbed the granite monument that Fate had so kindly erected to his stupidity.Immortal little flowers were carved into gray and two angels fluttered happily, forever trapped in the polished stone.

_Here lies Osamu Ichijouji_

_Beloved Son, Brother, and Friend_

_He will be missed._

"You would have done better, wouldn't you?" Ken asked emotionlessly.His eyes were had become purple pits."But you are dead now.For me.Because.Of.Me.And I am here to deal with these things alone."His voice cracked sharply."You left me alone!"Ken dropped his head again, unaware of the tears sliding down his cheeks to meet the falling rain.

"Yet what does any of this matter to you now?You're dead.You can't even hear me.So this is all moot point.I would apologize for wasting your time, but I doubt it would matter."

The young genius stared at the stone in silence for a moment, looking deep within himself for something—he didn't know what it was, but he knew that he wouldn't be whole until he found it.Was it in this world waiting for him to discover it?Was it in the Digital World where he had sought to make himself immortal?Was it here, hidden somewhere in the earth with these rotting corpses?No, there was nothing in this place for him.

"There is nothing here for me, is there, nii-chan?Why do I come here?This is not you; this a rock lodged in the earth.This is as much you as Mt. Fuji.You are not here and I am searching in vain."He cocked his head to the side as though he were debating something.Then he closed his eyes and his lips set themselves in a thin line of finality."Fuck The Anniversary.What is it but another day?Goodbye, Osamu."

Ken rose smoothly and turned hard on his heel.Three steps away the boy stopped and turned his head to regard the headstone once more.After a moment's hesitation, he turned back around and approached the stone with something that was neither reverence nor caution, but maybe a bit of both.Long, delicate fingers gently ran over the edge of the granite and a few leaves fluttered to the ground with soft whispers.

" . . . I miss you." 

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	17. Lightening Crashes

For They Shall Be Filled

** **

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain** ****

**__________________________________________________________**

** **

** **

**Sinister**: I'm afraid that Vain has been confined to a—um—body cast and is therefore unable to do the disclaimer.

**Kaiser**:Yes, which means, you useless simpletons, that Vain owns nothing and is earning nothing from this, so shut up, read, and review.

**Remy**: Anybody ever tell you dat you got anger issues, cher?*looks around*Ou est-ce que Ken et Wormmon?

**Kaiser**: *laughs manically*Ahahahahahahahahaha!

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** **

**_~"A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, _**

**_Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted,_**

**_for they were no more."_****__**

**-Matthew 2: 18**

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Part Sixteen 

Rika Ichijouji was terrified.She had reached a fear beyond tears, beyond words, beyond reaction.The only thing she was capable of doing at that moment was breathing, and she wasn't even managing that right now.At least, that's how it looked to Wormmon.

The rookie digimon stared out of the Ken's cracked bedroom door and watched Mrs. Ichijouji pace frantically.

Ken had told his mother that he would be home late after soccer practice, but he had never said how late.Now, it was nearly 8:30, the sun had set, it was pouring outside, and Mrs. Ichijouji was thirty seconds from a full-blown panic attack.

Ken's father walked up behind her and gently rubbed her arms. The man's voice was soft and soothing, barely detectable to Wormmon's sensitive hearing."It'll be alright, honey.Ken's a very bright boy.I'm sure he's fine.He just lost track of the time, that's all."

Mrs. Ichijouji pulled away violently and crossed her arms over her chest.She went to stare at the driving rain through the window, her voice shrill with tears and cracked with pain."But what if he's not fine, Tsuyoshi?!What if he's been kidnapped or, even worse, run away again?We don't even know what happened to him the first time, and now . . . He might not come back this time.I can't deal with this again!I cannot lose another son!"

Wormmon sighed and closed the door softly.His magenta-tipped feet clicked quietly as he crawled up Ken's bed.Once on top, he curled up in the center of the bed and turned doleful eyes to the door to await his master's return.

_No . . . not master.Ken now_, he corrected himself._Just Ken-chan._The caterpillar digimon closed his eyes wearily and fought sleep.Ken would need him when he returned and Wormmon refused to let his partner down.

After practice, the two of them had went directly to the Digital World for the meeting with Kari and from there Ken had told Wormmon to return home while he went for a walk.

_"I just need to clear my head,"_ he had explained to his partner with one of those fake smiles that made Wormmon's skin crawl beneath his carapace.

_"But it's raining out."_

_"I know.Don't worry, my friend.I just need to blow off some steam."_

_ _

_"Today was a bad day, wasn't it?"_

_ _

_"There's no fate but what you make, Wormmon."_

Wormmon never should have left him.But that was how trouble always started, wasn't it?Ken decided to do something, Wormmon protested, and Ken smiled and did what he was going to do anyway._". . . Please be careful, Ken."_

"Ken-chan . . ."Wormmon burrowed deeper into the covers.He absolutely hated to be separated from Ken.It always felt like half of him had been ripped away.Ever since Ken's first trip to the Digital World nearly five years ago, there had only been three incidences in which the two of them had been separated for longer than 24 hours.The first was after Ken's very first trip when Sam took his digivice, the second was right after Ryou disappeared—when Ken returned, his Digivice was pitch black and he had gained that empty smile, the third and final time was when Wormmon died.

_But now all that's over and Ken's going to okay,_ the little creature thought tiredly._Ken's going to be fine.He has his Crest and those other humans, Davis and the others, can make him forget about all the nasty stuff so he'll stop hating everything.And now he loves me again.He's kind to me again, the way he was before Ryou left and Osamu died—I think he even likes the Davis and TK kids._The little digimon's eyes fluttered shut in contentment as sleep crept upon him.

The door slammed shut loudly, startling Wormmon awake.He uncurled and worked his ten legs rapidly to escape the sea of covers and reach the edge of the elevated bed.Curled into a small ball to absorb the shock, he landed on the floor with a thud and rolled towards the door.He opened it a crack and stuck his small green head out eagerly.

Ken had come home. 

**************

After the door slammed, Rika Ichijouji whirled around to see her youngest child—her only child—taking off his shoes with the quiet dignity that he carried with him everywhere.

She felt Tsu's presence behind her as his voice rumbled out of his chest."Where have you been, young man?Your mother and I were worried sick!"Ken took off his left shoe and didn't look up.Tsu seemed to get even more upset."Answer me, Ken!What is wrong with y—"

He choked on the words as their son raised his eyes face them.Ken looked like he had just walked off a battlefield.Water dripping from his clothing was quickly pooling on the floor.His normally bright eyes were dull and his hair clung to his skull.The thin, pale skin that made him the rage of preteen girls everywhere was nearly translucent and there was an unsettlingly listless expression on his face.

Rika took a hesitant step forward."Ken?Honey?"

The boy turned dead eyes to her."Sorry to worry you, Mother.Father.I'm afraid I lost track of the time."

"I . . . are you alright, dear?"

"I'm fine, Mother; it's just been a long day."

He began to walk towards them with steady steps.A chill seemed to fill the air as he slipped past his mother.She followed him with her eyes for a moment before gently reaching out and touching one of his wet arms."Someone named TK called for you.He said that the trip was set for tomorrow and that his mother would pick you up.Is this TK a. . . friend of yours, honey?"

Ken nodded wearily."Yes."

"Wait a minute," Tsu interrupted sternly."What are you doing tomorrow?It's The Anniversary."

"I know, but Mother said that—"

"Rika, did you give him permission to go out on The Anniversary?"

"Father, it's just a camping trip and—"

"I was talking to your Mother, Ken."Tsuyoshi turned his hard brown eyes to his wife."Well?"

Rika put her hands on her hips."Let the boy have a break, Tsu.Ken needs a chance to relax and this long weekend is the perfect time.He doesn't have any games, tests, tournaments, or interviews.When else could he get away?"

Ken attempted to slip past his father, but Tsuyoshi would have none of it.A muscular arm extended to the wall, level with Ken's chest.Brown eyes turned to blue-violet and the two vied for dominance.Tsu's voice was firm and uncompromising."You are not going."

The blue-violet eyes widened."How dare you!You can't just do that to me!"

The older man blinked in surprise.Ken had never, ever spoken to anyone that way, let alone his parents.He had never heard so much . . . passion, some much rage, in his son's voice.If this was the effect of such "friends" on the quiet young man, then he was definitely not going."That settles it," the businessman declared over his wife's protest."You are not going.Tomorrow is Osamu's Anniversary.We all have to go down to the cemetery and see him—"

"Why does it matter?" demanded Ken, his temper slipping once more."We go every year and every year things remain the same.Nothing will ever change; move on, already!"

Tsu went rigid."Go to your room, Ken."

Rika's eyes darted between her husband and her son.Tsuyoshi never spoke in that tone of voice.Never."Tsu . . ."

Ken's eyes flared."Why can't you let him go?"

"Ken . . . I said _go to your room._"

"Osamu is DEAD and he's not coming back!Accept that!"

There are some things in life which everyone can see coming, but no one can stop.The crash of the New York Stock Exchange in 1929 was one of those things.World War Two was one of those things.The arch Tsuyoshi Ichijouji's open hand made towards his son's face was also one of those things.Rika saw it, Ken saw it, and even Tsu saw it, but no one could stop it from reaching its destination.No one could even tell when it had begun.But suddenly it connected, violently snapping Ken's head back with an angry crack and slamming the boy into the wall.There was a loud "WHUFF!" as the air burst from Ken's lips and he lay there for an instant, stunned. 

There was a full minute of stillness during which nobody moved.Then, with an incredibly slow motion, Ken raised two fingers to touch his lower lip.He pulled them away just as slowly, holding them out in front of him to see blood glittering apple red in the hall light. He stared at them without comprehension, barely registering the hot copper flavor in his mouth. His mother made a small sound like a wounded animal and her hands flew over her mouth.

Ken's father was watching him with wide eyes, hand upraised, and body frozen in time.He had never struck a child before, let alone _his_ child."Ken—my God—I . . . Ken—"

Hearing his name seemed to startle the boy out of his funk.He pressed the hand with the bloodied fingers against the wall and pushed himself up, leaving a red smear on the white paint to mark his passing._He hit me . . ._ He staggered a bit, pushing himself past his still shocked father._He **hit** me . . ._ Ken's body was operating on autopilot and he locked the door to his bedroom.He didn't even see Wormmon scrambling to get out of his way as he set up one of his nastier booby traps._My** father** hit me . . ._

Then the shock faded and Ken wrapped his arms tightly around his body, collapsing on the floor in a heap.He rocked back and forth and his shoulder shook as he struggled to fight back the tears he'd been battling all day.

"Ken-chan?" Wormmon asked timidly."Why—"

"Shh."Shaking arms weakly pulled the caterpillar into his lap."Shh," Ken whispered again.

Wormmon pressed himself into Ken's arms, both offering and seeking comfort."Why did he hit you, Ken?"

"Today was just a bad day, that's all, Wormmon.It was just a bad day . . ."

**************

Tsuyoshi Ichijouji's entire body was shaking."My God, Rika . . . I just got so angry—I was so angry, and—What have I done?" he whispered in horror.

She guided him over to the couch and then returned several minutes later holding a cup of strong tea in her hands.He accepted it gratefully and they sat in silence for a moment.Then he turned to look at her, eyes brimming with sorrow."We're losing him, aren't we?"

"No, Tsu," his wife shook her head slowly and her short hair shifted from shoulder to shoulder.She stared fixedly at the coffee table."We lost him a long time ago."

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	18. To A Higher Education

For They Shall Be Filled

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

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**__________________________________________________________**

**Vain**: I don't own anything or one so please don't sue.

**Kaiser**: Or you'll have to deal with me.

**Vain**: R & R, please!

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

** **

**_~ "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, _**

**_seeking rest, and finds none.Then he says,_**

**_'I will return to my house from which I came.' "_****__**

**-Matthew 12: 44 and 45**

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Part Seventeen

Cody Hida brought his Kendo stick down onto the open air with a discipline uncommon for a child his age.Upomon watched his partner with concern.Cody executed another move, grunting with restrained strength.He was control.He was focus.He was centered.

"Cody?"

He was control.He was focus.He was centered.

"Cody?"

He was control.He was focus.He was centered.

"Cody?!"

"Huh?" the boy pulled off his helmet and blinked owlishly at his friend in the early morning light."What's up, Upomon?"

"What's wrong?"

Cody put down his Kendo stick and began to remove his practice garb."Nothing.Why do you ask?"

"You've been unhappy ever since yesterday and I was wondering what's wrong.Is it about what Gennai said about the Dark One?"

" . . . No."

"Is it about Ken?"

". . ."

The little in-training correctly assumed that his partner's silence was an answer.He waved his large ears and bounced up and down."Why don't you like him?Davis, TK, and Kari don't seem to have such a big problem with him and even Yolei's working to give him the benefit of the doubt.You heard what Gennai said: we need him."

Cody sighed and closed his green eyes. "I know, but there's just so much that we don't know about him.You saw the way he reacted to Gennai.He's got history in the Digital World—and frankly, I'm not so sure he's not just manipulating us.He has his own agenda, he even said so."

Upomon frowned.He could understand what Cody was saying and he didn't really know how to help.He suddenly smiled as a new thought occurred to him."Why don—"

"Cody," his mother called."Breakfast!"The small boy turned and looked at his partner with his serious and steady gaze."I'll bring you something to eat after breakfast.Do you think that I should talk to TK and Yolei on the way to school?"

Upomon grinned.His human was so smart.

**************

Ken liked scalding hot showers.There were few things that the boy found more relaxing than turning up the hot water and standing in the steam until it was all gone.So, when he woke up extra early that morning feeling groggy and rather disgusting, Wormmon timidly suggested that he indulge himself in this particular past time.The boy readily agreed and that was how the two of them ended up in the Ichijouji bathroom inhaling the steam while Ken leaned his forehead against the wall and let the water untangled his knotted muscles.Wormmon sat on the toilet lid and listened to Ken's even breathing.

"So how bad is it?" Ken asked over the water.

"Is what?"

"My face."After feeling the tight ache along his jaw, Ken had been loathe to look in a mirror.

"Um . . . part of it's kinda purple.It matches your hair," Wormmon offered.

The boy in the shower chuckled dryly."Thanks.At least I'm now color coordinated."

The little rookie laid his head down miserably."Sorry, Ken.I was only trying to help."

"That's alright.It was a bad joke."

The smell of juniper filled the steam as Ken began to shampoo his hair."I had a dream last night, Wormmon."

The small green head arose, blue eyes sharpening with acute interest."Really?Is that why you're in a good mood today?"

"I don't know.I feel like—I don't know.I was on this beach trying to build a sand castle.But I wasn't me, I was a little kid again.I kept trying to build this sand castle, but the waves were knocking it down.Then I saw Sam.He told me that I still hadn't gotten the balance right and that I was only making things harder by doing it all myself."

"Then what happened?" Wormmon asked curiously.

"Then I saw Davis.He had this bucket with the Crest of Courage on it and a shovel with the Crest of Friendship.He sat down in the water next to me and began to help me.Then I woke up."

"That's it?"

"That's it," replied Ken.He leaned back under the stream of water to rinse out his hair."I guess it's kind of stupid, but that's the first dream that I've really remembered in . . . years.I feel like I'm getting close to something.Kari said that the dreams were warnings, but I think that they may be the key to everything."

Wormmon was silent as he absorbed that bit of information."Do you think that this could be what we've been looking for?"

"I hope so, my friend.Maybe we're finally moving in the right direction. . . What do you think, Wormmon?Should I really give those Digidestined a chance?"

"They could help you find your memories again."

"Hmm . . .perhaps.Either way, it's better than sitting on my hands.Besides, I think that Gennai and I will need to have a long talk before this is all over."

Ken sighed and finished rubbing conditioner into his scalp._But first_, he thought, _I need to talk to someone else._

Oddly enough, he didn't regret what he had said to his father last night, but he definitely regretted being such a . . . an ass about it.He and his parents would definitely have to sit and discuss some things.They had all agreed to try and work things out, but never moved beyond the words.Maybe this incident would force them to really talk about things for the first time in . . . well, ever.

_Hmph, or maybe you just need someone to whack some sense into you once a month to stop him from coming back to the surface._He grimaced slightly at that thought.He knew that it was stupid of him to attempt to dissociate himself from his former life by looking upon it as a separate entity, but he couldn't help himself.It made things easier._But it's stupid and probably self-destructive, _his conscience chided him._You are the Emperor and the Emperor is you, Kenny-boy._

He also found it slightly alarming that his conscience sounded suspiciously like Osamu.

"Ken?" Wormmon's voice broke into his reverie.

"Hmm?"Quick fingers smoothed the conditioner out of his hair.

"You should hurry up if you want to talk to your father."

He turned off the water and stepped out into the cool air, reaching for the towel that Wormmon held ready for him."Thanks," he said absently.

Ken wrapped himself up in the towel and gently lifted up his partner.

"What are you going to do now?" the creature asked, stifling a yawn.

"First, I'm going to get dressed."

"Then?"

"Then . . . into the mouth of the beast."

"Hey, Ken?"

"Hmm?"

"Can we have breakfast first?"

**************

Cody watched his mother retrieve the rice cakes as he listened with half an ear to her conversation with his grandfather.

_Maybe Upomon is right_, the boy thought as he played with his chopsticks._Maybe I am being too hard on him.But he tortured hundreds of innocent digimon!Gomamon, Agumon, Biyomon, Gatsumon, Bakemon, Dark Tyranomon . . . how many more have suffered that we don't even know about?How can he ever justify his actions?How can he ever redeem himself?_

Cody sighed._Maybe I really am being too judgmental . . . but I just can't trust him._

**************

After sneaking Wormmon some food from the kitchen, Ken waited patiently for his mother to wake up and leave her bedroom.She was usually the first one awake and the boy had been depending on his family's absolute predictability this morning.Ken didn't know when his father went to bed, but now as he stood in the doorway of his parent's bedroom and watched the older man sleep, he tried to think back to the last time they had spent any real time together.There were soccer games to win, interviews to respond to, cameras to smile for, and fans to sign balls for . . . And then his father had his job. 

Ken sighed, a subtle exhalation of air.This was an absolute mess—granted, most everything was a mess these days, but this certainly ranked up there on Ken's list of "The Top Ten Things That I Have Screwed Up."

That thought caused his conscience to perk up._Wallowing in self-pity again, Kenny-boy?_

_You shut up,_ he snarled back internally._I am not in the mood to deal with you right now. _

_ _

_Well you were._

_ _

_Shut.Up._

A groan sounded from the bed and Ken stiffened in the doorway.After a brief moment of hesitation, he entered the room and sat down on a chair next to the bed.He silently thanked his lucky stars that he had had the foresight to brush his hair over the damaged portion of his face.His father rolled over to face him and his eyes fluttered open.

Ken tensed as recognition slid through his father's sleep fogged brain.His words came out like a sigh."Good morning."

Tsu sat up in bed and regarded his child awkwardly."Morning."

"How did you sle—"

Ken cut off sharply as his father extended his hand and gently cupped his chin in his hand.He tilted the boy's head back slightly and examined his face in the morning light.A large purple welt crossed the pale right cheek, terminating at the mouth.His lower lip was split on the right side.

Tsu dropped his hand and closed his eyes in pain."Ken, I—I am so sorry.Please—"

"Father . . . don't.I'm fine; besides, I was way out of line last night.I had no right to say what I said." 

"Ken . . . I have wronged you."

"What?"Indigo hair slid away from Ken's face as his head snapped up in surprise."No.This is my fault, not yours."

"I expected too much—and I expected all the wrong things.I looked at you and saw your brother.I looked at your brother and saw opportunity.And I don't know how to change that.I love you both so much . . . and I miss Sam.Ken, I have hurt you in the worst way—I failed to acknowledge you for who you are.All I saw, all I wanted to see, was how I thought you should be.And for that, I am so sorry."

With this apology, all Ken's words flew right out of his head and he stared at his father for a moment without comprehension.He swallowed hard around the lump in his throat."Then we'll learn together."

Tsuyoshi looked confused.

"I'm trying to figure some things out, Father.My disappearance . . . well, let's just say it was a real learning experience.It gave me quite a bit to think about.I think I've been lost for a very long time now.I need to take some time—I don't know—get my head together.I think I have quite a bit to learn."

Abruptly Tsu stood and wrapped his arms around his fragile-looking son, gathering the boy in a strong embrace."We both have a lot to learn, son."

Ken stiffened in surprise and then relaxed.He wrapped his slender arms around his father and rested his head on the older man's broad shoulder._Maybe, just maybe, there's something to be said for this whole cooperative learning process after all . . . _

_ _

**************

Cody's small legs worked rapidly to keep up with the longer appendages of TK and Yolei.Naturally, they had slowed their pace to help the smallest of the Digidestined keep up, but Cody still had to work extra hard.

"I'm not really sure," Yolei responded when he asked her why she trusted Ken."I don't really trust him, but I'm not quite ready to throw him out on his ear either.I guess I'm just trying to do what Mimi would do—but don't think that I'm ready to just up and forgive him."

Cody frowned at the ground."What about you, TK?"

"Hmm?"The taller boy blinked rapidly."What?I'm sorry; I was thinking about something."

Patamon wiggled restlessly in TK's book bag.His voice was muffled as he chided his partner gently."Cody wants to know why you trust Ken all of a sudden."

The Child of Hope looked down at the Child of Knowledge and Reliability with a small crease of displeasure wrinkling his forehead."Is that what you think?" he asked, looking slightly distressed.

"I didn't mean to offend you—"

"No," the other shook his head."I'm not offended.I'm just—well, what do you think of Ken, Cody?"

Emerald eyes blinked owlishly."Me?I don't really know him."Cody's eyes squinted slightly as he considered his response."I think that he did something wrong and he should be punished."

"How?"

Cody frowned at the question and Yolei's eyebrows shot up in confusion.

"I don't know," the small Digidestined said.

"Exactly."

"Okay, TK," declared Yolei, throwing her hands up in the air."You have officially lost me."

"Listen guys," Takeru explained patiently as he checked the traffic."Even if he should be punished, how could we do it?It's like Davis said at the picnic: we can't exactly give him to the police."He stepped out into the street, still looking for traffic."What would we say?He's an evil megalomaniac with a penchant for sadism and control?"He shook his head."I think he's changed and that's the honest truth, but I also think that he could change back."

"Then why trust him?" protested Cody, still confused.

"Because he needs help."

"Well, you're right on that point," agreed Yolei."Ken needs help.Specialists.And lots and lots of medication."

TK sighed and closed his eyes."That's not what I meant, Yolei."He bit his lip thoughtfully."Cody, when we were in the Digimon Emperor's base and I got into that fight with him, I asked him if he always resorted to violence when he ran out of things to say.He gave me the weirdest look, kind of like a little kid who had gotten lost and wasn't really sure how.He looked at me and said, 'I guess so.'I never really thought about it until yesterday, but I get the feeling that Ken's just . . . I don't know—lost, I guess.And no, Yolei, I don't mean crazy, I mean like his soul is lost.And I want to help him find it."The Child of Hope shook his head again."Maybe you think I'm crazy, but I think he'd make a great ally—probably even a better friend.And I definitely don't want to face him as an enemy again." 

Cody's mouth twisted slightly and his brow contracted."But he doesn't deserve our friendship."

"Then neither do Matt or Gatomon."

Two sets of eyes widened."What?!"

"But you two never consider that, do you?"The corners of TK's mouth tightened in irritation."You trust them both with your lives.People CHANGE, guys.That's kind of our line of work."

Cody looked agitated."But that's different!" he cried while shaking his head in conviction.

"Really?How so?"

Yolei appeared equally upset."Cody's right!They've proven themselves—"

"And how can Ken prove himself if we don't give him the chance?"

"…"

"…"

They completed the walk to school in silence.

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	19. Pre-Game Highlights

For They Shall Be Filled

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 

** **

**__________________________________________________________**

**Remy**: Viola, mes amis: here's de deal!Let me put dis in terms dat y'all can compris, bien.*ahem*_About a month ago one of you e-mailed Vain with information about the four Guardians of the Digital World (names, regions, colors, ect.).Vain, in her infinite wisdom, accidentally deleted it, so, if ANYONE AT ALL has information on the Guardians, please e-mail Vain ASAP or put it in a review._ Merci beaucoup an' only you can prevent forest fires.

**Ken**: You're weird, Remy.

**Remy**: Ah, oui!So you decide ta turn up encore, non?Vain's been goin' nuts lookin' for ya!An' 'xactly **why** do ya small like sewage?

**Ken**:. . . Please read and review.*to Remy* You weren't really that fond of the Kaiser, were you?

**Remy**: *lifts eyebrow* Why?What'd ya do, cher?

**Ken**: . . .

**Remy**: Cher?

**Ken**: *begins to rock back and forth and wistle innocently*

**Remy**:Dis ain't funny, Ken!Where is he?!

**Ken**: He's alive.

**Sinister**:Enjoy the fic and review.

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**_~"Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him."_****__**

**-Matthew 4: 11**

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Part Eighteen 

TK Takaishi stood in front of the door of the Ichijouji residence, hand poised to knock._What are you doing here, TK?What on earth possessed you to volunteer to pay a house call to your worst—okay, former—worst enemy?And what exactly were you telling the new kids this morning?_His hand knocked on the door._What are you gonna say to him?This is not the brightest thing you've ever done._

The door swung inward to reveal a small mousy-looking woman with curly brown hair and plain, comely features.Her brown eyes blinked at the blond in confusion.

The Child of Hope pasted a bright smile across his face and removed his hat."Is Ken Ichijouji here?"

Rika Ichijouji mimicked his facial expression."Sorry, but we don't allow solicitors here."

The door began to swing closed."Hey, wait!" cried TK, blocking the door with his hand."My name is Takeru Takaishi.We talked on the phone, remember: the camping trip?"

The door flew back open as though it was on a spring."Oh, I'm so sorry, dear.Please come in."

TK entered self-consciously, stopping briefly in the hallway to remove his shoes and put on the guest slippers.Ken's mother was chattering away, oblivious to the boy's discomfort."Ken is in his room packing his things.I'm sorry for closing the door on you, but ever since he came back, the press hasn't given him a moment's peace.He's really looking forward to this trip, though.We all decided that he really needed to get away from everything." She sighed sadly."Especially today."

The blond Digidestined looked around the apartment as the petite woman spoke.The flat was neat and expensive-looking, with just a hint of sterility.There were no scattered papers on the table or dishes in the sink.There wasn't even any dust.A few pictures were scattered about the apartment.They mostly consisted of color-coordinated watercolors, but some appeared to be family photos: pictures of a small boy with wild indigo hair and glasses.TK paused in the living room to inspect one.It featured the wild-haired boy wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a small triumphant smirk.

"That's a really good picture of Ken," he offered when Mrs. Ichijouji paused for breath.

She half-turned and regarded the photo with a sad smile."Oh, no.That's not Ken; that's his older brother Osamu."

A speculative blond eyebrow lifted slightly."I didn't know Ken had a brother."

"He died a few years ago.Ken was absolutely devastated.He doesn't talk about Sam much anymore . . ."

_Nice, TK_, he thought in disgust._Think there's room in your mouth for your other foot, too?_Aloud he only said: "I'm sorry.I didn't know."

The woman shrugged noncommittally and then brightened."This," she said, indicating the last door at the end of the hall, "is Ken's room.I'll just leave you boys alone now."

"Thank you, Mrs. Ichijouji."

He turned to knock on door, only to have it swing open in his face.Ken leaned nonchalantly against the doorframe, his indigo hair tumbling strategically in front of his face, obscuring part of it from view. A pair of slightly faded blue jeans and a long-sleeved indigo shirt, so dark it was nearly black, covered his slim frame and his face was set in a cool look of slightly contemptuous indifference."Hello, Takeru."

The other boy paled and then blushed."Hi, Ken."He tried not to stare at the other boy's foreign clothing and Ken shrugged.

"Mother didn't want my uniform stained.Come in," Ken gestured and stood aside."Minomon has been anxious to leave."

"Hi, TK!" squeaked a voice from somewhere above him.

TK entered and closed the door behind him.The bedroom was very dim and just as neat and sterilized as the rest of the apartment.An elevated bed dominated the wall directly across from the door, set five feet in the air over a balcony door and a neat bookcase.Purple curtains blocked most of the light coming through the balcony doors and cast violet shadows over everything.A pair of closed doors, several bookshelves, all packed tight, and a dresser claimed the right wall.On the left wall, high cupboards and a shelf projected out over the modern-looking desk.A pencil cup, globe, PC, closed laptop, and several books occupied the desk's polished surface.In the center of the room was a round table where Ken busied himself with his bag, as Takeru browsed through some of the books standing upright and neatly stacked on the desk.Titles like _Viva La France_, _Physics for the Modern World_, _Honors C++_, and _Advanced Programming and Mathematics_ adorned the hard covers of the books lying down: they were all text books.The upright books appeared to be reference books from his personal collections.

Next to the computer, another picture of Osamu Ichijouji grinned up at him through a plain and functional frame.TK's eyes roamed and he saw another picture of Osamu on the bookcase beneath the bed.This time the older Ichijouji shared the picture with a small child, probably a good five or six years his junior. The younger child was leaning into the elder as though he were trying to sink into him or hide from the camera. He was blushing a dusty pink.Osamu had possessive arms around his little brother and he grinned at the camera photogenicly.There was something odd behind the smile, though, or perhaps it was in the way he pulled Ken to him, but there lurked something closed and dangerous in his blue-violet eyes.

Takeru frowned, uncomfortable with that picture.Then he frowned again and did a double take of the room as he noticed something else odd.There were absolutely no toys or posters anywhere in the room.It was almost clinical in its maturity.

"Takeru?"The boy jumped as a delicate hand waved in front of his eye.He turned to see Ken watching him with an upraised eyebrow.The other boy's head was still tilted to the side, hiding the right half of his face beneath his hair."I asked you if something was wrong."

He looked at the pale boy oddly for a moment."No, nothing is wrong.. . .Nice room."

Ken retrieved his laptop and a small bundle of cords and went back to his bag."It suits my needs."

This comment earned Ken another look, but the boy didn't appear to notice.He was placing something in the book bag from the round table that occupied the center of the room.Takeru frowned darkly as he recognized the long leather coils of Ken's whip."What do you need that for?" he demanded more sharply than intended.

Ken looked up in surprise.That question had never occurred to him.The sudden motion, however, caused his hair to slide back from his face and revealed the angry bruise running across his cheek.

TK stared in shock at the purple mark that marred the other's face."What happened?!"

The obvious concern in his voice came as another surprise and for a moment Ken didn't respond.Then he shrugged dismissively and waved away the question with an elegant hand."It's nothing."

"Nothing?You look like you let the soccer team practice with your face and you call it nothing?"

"I'm fine.Why are you worried anyway?"

"Who said I was worried?"

" . . . Whatever."Ken finished packing his bag.Ignoring the blonde's glare walked over to the bed where he lifted up a small green and brown bundle."We're ready to go if you are."

The bundle's eyes crinkled in a sort of smile and a flipper-like appendage waved."Hi, TK," Minomon chimed again.

"Hey, Minomon."

The in-training digimon tilted his head in childish curiosity."Where's your digimon?"

In spite of himself, the Child of Hope grinned at the digimon's innocence.There was something about Wormmon and Minomon that reminded him of Davis.Davis without the overpowering cockiness.And annoyingness.And Davisness."He's waiting in the car."

Ken raised an eyebrow and TK shrugged."Mom knows about the whole Digital World thing."

"Really?That certainly had to be an interesting experience."

"Well, I didn't really have much choice.Once your mom sees you walking around Japan with giant monsters and getting sucked up into the sky by beams of light, there are bound to be questions."

A ghost of a smile danced near Ken's lips and faded."I would imagine so."He gently secured Minomon in the book bag and lifted it up to his shoulder."We should go."

TK nodded and followed him out the door."You never answered my question," he reminded the boy genius as he they made there way up the hall.

"Goodbye, Mother," Ken said as he passed the kitchen.

"Oh, Ken!" the plain woman called.

The boy bit back a sigh."Yes, Mother?"

Mrs. Ichijouji emerged from the kitchen wearing a bright smile and carrying two paper bags.She handed a bag to each of them and gave them both a chance to bask in the glow of her motherly affection."Have fun, boys."

He looked at her and gave her a rare genuine smile."Thank you, Mother."

She beamed and returned to the kitchen.

"What question?" Ken asked as he put his boots on.

Takeru grunted and leaned against the wall, briefly struggling with his recalcitrant sneakers."The whip.Why are you bringing the whip?"

"Why are you wearing that ridiculous hat?"

"…"

"Any more questions, Digidestined?"

"Shut up."

The two pulled on their shoes in silence after that.As Ken closed the door to his apartment and locked he sighed.He hadn't meant to upset TK . . . no, actually he had.He had had every intention of irritating Takeru.And he had been quite amused by the boy's brief flash of temper.. . . But now he _did_ regret it.And the other boy _had_ been concerned about his injury.The genius scowled.He had never had to worry about all these damned feelings before._Hmph_.

He turned around.Takeru was leaning against the wall in the hallway with his arms crossed and his head down.He was glaring like thunder._Nice, genius.Now how are you going to make this better?_He paused hesitantly and looked at the other boy."Hey, Takeru?"

"What?"

". . . It's a nice hat."

The blond watched the other carefully, suspiciously.Then he relaxed and smiled."Thanks Ken."

Things were much more pleasant after that.

**************

_ _

_Thump!_The soccer ball hit the tree and resounded hollowly._Thump!Thump!_Davis caged it neatly and dribbled it for a moment before hitting the tree again._Thump!Thump!_

Demiveemon watched his partner with a small smile."Why'd we come so early?" he demanded in his child-like voice.

"I told you, Demiveemon, we had sneak out before Jun finds out that Matt'll be here."_Thump!_"It's not like it's my fault she's obsessed with him."_Thump!Thump!Thump!_"Besides, Grandpa needs to get home before dark to take his medication."_Thump!_

"Oh."A small blue head rose from the picnic table curiously._Thump!_"Will Minomon be here soon?"_Thump!_

"Yeah, Ken'll bring him.You really like Mino, don't you?"

_Thump!_"He's nice!He knows lots of stuff, too."

Davis grunted as he kicked the ball again_.Thump!_"Hmph.Livin' with a big brain like Ken rubs off, I guess."

_Thump!_The soccer ball hit a knot on the tree and rolled away in a mocking flash of black and white."Aw, Damnit!"Davis glared at the offensive plastic as it rolled past him and let out a long string of colorful language. 

"Nice, Motomiya."

"Huh?"The goggle boy turned in surprise just in time to see Ken Ichijouji catch the ball in a flawless cage and lightly kick it back to him.Naturally, the kick was perfect.

The genius smirked."You even lose when you play by yourself. That has to take skill."

Davis shrugged good-naturedly.Ever since Wormmon's death he had noticed that Ken's little smirk were no longer the trademark evil expressions of the Emperor.They were undoubtedly mocking—even downright malicious at times—but they weren't evil."Everybody needs a talent."

"Right."

"Where's TB?Didn't you two come together?"

"Yes," Ken responded in his polished voice as he gently set his book bag on the picnic table next to Chibimon.He nodded in greeting to the little blue dragon-thing."His mother wanted to talk to him, so I came up ahead."He turned back to Chibimon."Minomon's missed you."

The book bag zipper slid downward and a small brown and green rocket launched itself at Chibimon with a shrill squeal of delight.Ken's lips twitched towards a smile that didn't appear.

Davis frowned as a dark mark on the side of Ken's face caught his attention."What happened?"

"Hmm?"

"Your face, dude.What happened?"

"Judo practice."

"Oh."Davis kicked the ball towards Ken."Still feel like putting your game where your mouth is, Ichijouji?"

A delicate eyebrow rose."Is that a challenge, goggle-head?"

"That's goggle-_man_, 'Rocket.' And what do you think?Aren't you supposed to be a genius or something like that?"

Ken's eyes flashed in the sun.His smirk broadened."Something like that."

"Hmph.Says you."

Ken launched the ball back at Davis with far more force than necessary."Shut up and play, Motomiya."

And the game was on.

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**_About a month or so ago one of you—my wonderful and adored readers—e-mailed me _**

**_with information about the four Guardians of the Digital World (names, regions, colors, ect.). _**

**_I, in my infinite wisdom, accidentally deleted it, so, if ANYONE AT ALL _**

**_has information regarding the Guardians, please e-mail me ASAP or put it in a review.Thanks!_**

**_~Vain_**

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	20. Conspirac(ies?)!

For They Shall Be Filled

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain** ****

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**Vain**:Hey, I'm updating!Yeah . . . I still do that.

**Ken**:Please ignore her . . . 

**Remy**:Vain don't own nothing,' and she ain't dat bright, so she sure as hell ain't smart 'nough ta try an' make money offa dis.

**Ken**:What's with him?

**Vain**:He thinks I killed him off in "What Someone is Willing to Give."

**Remy**:*twitches*

**Ken**: Please R&R

**Vain**:_I'M STILL LOOKING FOR GUARDIAN INFO!!!!_****

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**_~ "He who is not with Me is against Me,_**

**_and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."_****__**

**-Matthew 12: 30******

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Part Nineteen

Gennai paced the center of the glade with his hands clasped tight behind his back.The Digidestined would be arriving in a little more than a half an hour._Oh why, oh why, oh why can't my job ever be easy?_He stopped sharply, a flicker just out of the corner of his eye startling him.

The traveler's eyes narrowed and he cast an alarmed glance at the surrounding vegetation._Great_, he rubbed his eyes wearily."Now you're seeing things, Gennai.You need to start getting more sleep, my friend."

"Talking to yourself, traveler?"

"What?!"Gennai whirled around with incredible speed, searching for the source of the mockingly familiar voice.There was no one around."Who are you?Where are you?"

"I can't say that I blame you, of course.Yours must be a very lonely existence . . ."

Gennai scowled.The voice was slightly distorted and followed by a ghostly echo, almost as though it were moving across far more time and space than it should have.The white-clad man turned around in a slow circle, eyes looking upward."Perhaps.But this hardly seems fair—you have me at a disadvantage.Won't you at least let me see your face?"

This seemed to be vastly amusing to the voice."If you believe it will do you any good.There is one condition, though."

"Which is?"

"You mustn't ever tell him that you've seen me."

"And who is 'him?' "

"… You'll understand."

Gennai waited for a moment and then his mouth tensed in irritation."So where are you?"

"I'm right behind you, Gennai."

The traveler turned around slowly, his instincts warning him not to show weakness to whoever had joined him in the clearing.Much to his incredulity, he found himself facing a translucent young man roughly the age of fourteen or fifteen who bore a striking resemblance to the Digimon Emperor.Violet-blue eyes gleamed at him critically behind gold-rimmed glasses and an eerily familiar smirk played across the youth's lips.

Gennai's eyes narrowed as he took in the boy's appearance."You're not really here, are you?You don't exist on this plane."

Those thin lips quirked slightly."Oh, come now," he chided gently."Don't you recognize me?"

Gennai stiffened at the child's mockery."Should I?"

Another smirk."My name," he offered with a sweeping bow, "is Osamu Ichijouji.And I think that we may be of some help to one another."

"Oh, really?"Gennai smiled without humor."How's that?"

"We both have the same goals, Gennai.I want to save my brother and you wish to save all the Children.We need to work together if either of us are to be effective."

Gennai lifted his eyebrows."And what's in it for you?"

"Salvation."

"For whom?You . . . or Ken?"

This question seemed to shake Osamu's composure and for the first time since his appearance, the confident smirk vanished and he looked away from Gennai's eyes.The boy's shoulders seemed to slump slightly."I can only show Kenny-chan the path, he must choose to walk it himself."Osamu looked back up into Gennai's eyes.His voice was intense."But I can do nothing if I cannot speak to him!"

Gennai frowned in concern."He refuses to heed you?"

"No."Osamu looked away again, this time in anger."I cannot speak to him on the dream plane.The Dark One interferes.On the mortal plane . . . He is angry.He is alone and afraid.He will not hear me.He refuses to see."The boy's eyes rose to Gennai's once more and shone with brilliant tears."He hurts, Gennai!And I _must_ help him . . . Please."

A look of intense sympathy passed over Gennai's face and he felt a swell of compassion as he looked into the eyes of the proud boy now humbled.Both Ichijouji boys carried tragic pride the way the Hida family carried their honor.He didn't know why, but he trusted this child—not because of his cold pride, but due to his bleeding desperation."What do you need from me?"

Osamu bit his lip in an attempt to compose himself."Have you ever heard of the Golden Radiance?"

Gennai smiled indulgently."Are you asking me to put my stock in a myth?"

"It is no myth!"

Brown hair moved as the traveler cocked his head to the side."The Golden Radiance hasn't been seen since the Dark One was banished.The Holy Ones refuse to hear anything on the subject."

"No."Osamu's shade shook its head."The Radiance is very much real, it is only hidden.The Faux Crests were made when the schism within the Ninth Child's soul caused it to split into two equal halves.With the Radiance freed once more, you would not need to worry about the Blessings."

"You are asking me to defy the Guardians."

"I am asking you to do your job!The Digidestined are your responsibility, Gennai, or have you forgotten?"

That shot told—Gennai's eyes widened and his pupils dilated in fury."How dare you!I have dedicated my life towards preserving—"

Osamu smiled unpleasantly."I'm sure that Ken and Ryou would appreciate your sacrifice."

The two glared coldly at one another, separated by a meter and literally dimensions apart.They each vied for dominance in a silent war neither wanted to lose and could have stood like that for eternity if the voice of the wind through the trees hadn't interrupted them.

"This is stupid," Gennai said, breaking the tension into a thousand pieces." . . . The Guardians will not be pleased if I interfere with their tests."

"Look," Osamu breathed in capitulation."I'm not asking you to defy your Guardians directly: just do nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Just give me what I need."

"You have my attention."

"I only need you to listen and allow Ken and I the room to do what we must."

"Listen?"

The boy nodded."There is another who needs to speak with you.He dwells on my plane."

The traveler frowned."A spirit?"

"Yes," he nodded his affirmative and then stepped slightly to the side."This," he gestured to a slowly clarifying purple mass, "is Wizardmon.He doesn't have much time, so listen closely."

**************

The Digidestined were assembled and ready to leave—well, most of them were.Yolei, and Kari were talking with Cody and TK about the upcoming "test," while Tai, Izzy, and Matt stared at the field. 

The blond-haired lead of the Teenage Wolves watched soccer game in amazement."Those two are just hell-bent on killing each other, aren't they?"

Tai's lips slid into a smile of their own accord."It's soccer," he explained.

Matt shot his best friend a look of befuddlement.He turned to his brother as the younger Children joined them."Do they even know we're here?"

TK shrugged."I don't know—probably not, though.They've been at it for over twenty minutes."

"Look at Ken go!" Yolei declared with a broad grin."He's even better than the first time I saw him!"

Izzy's head snapped away from the indigo-haired boy to stare at Yolei, startled.His black eyes blinked as he felt a hot emotion run through him and he looked from Yolei to Ken and back, scowling darkly.

Davis swore explosively as he tripped, falling down hard.Ken swept in and stole the ball and slammed the black and white sphere into the tree that was serving as their goal with cold precision. 

The Rocket smirked in triumph as the ball rolled to a stop at his feet.He turned to Davis, who remained on his knees.He offered the other boy a hand."Surrender, Digidestined?"

Davis's brown eyes locked onto his opponent's blue-violet ones.They stayed that way for a moment, entangled in each other's gaze.Then Davis offered Ken a sly smile.

"NEVER!!!"

Ken's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in a comical expression of shock as Davis's foot swung up, hit the backs of his knees, and effectively knocked the taller boy off his feet.The breath lurched from his pale body as Ken's back and the ground met on intimate terms.

The two were still for a moment, Ken suddenly looking at the sky and Davis propped up on one arm and grinning broadly, before the dark-skinned goggle-boy casually offered his opponent his free hand."Surrender, Digidestined?"

Ken pushed himself up, for the first time since Davis met him totally poiseless, and gaped like a fish out of water."Y—you . . . You cheated!" he sputtered in accusation.

Davis's grin stretched."Ain't life grand?"

Ken stared at him as though he'd lost his mind. 

"C'mon."Davis pushed himself to his feet."The others are staring at us."

This reminder of his image was more than enough to close Ken's mouth and bring the young genius to his feet with his typical grace and aplomb."Has anybody ever told you that you bear a striking resemblance to the Chestershire Cat?"

"Chesty-what?"

" … The others are staring, Davis."

Izzy watched the two as they approached and went out to meet them, the other Digidestined in tow."Good game," he greeted the exhausted pair."Who won?"

Ken lifted an eyebrow and smirked as if to say: _Who else?_

Davis blushed dusky rose and put a hand behind his head, laughing uncomfortably."Well, I didn't really keep score . . ."

"Really?"Izzy smiled knowingly and turned to Ken."Did you?"

The odd blue-violet eyes flashed in the sun, almost luminescent, and bore deep into Izzy's.The older genius could almost hear the younger's thoughts._I know what you're trying to do, Izzumi . . . _Visibly, he merely shrugged and smiled unpleasantly, a slight twist of the lips."It's only a game."

Izzy matched him smile for smile."Yeah . . ."

"Nice moves, Davis," Tai broke in, eager to alleviate the tension."You were pretty good out there."

"Yes," Ken agreed, allowing his smile to soften as he turned to the shorter boy."You've really improved."

"Really?!"Davis lit up like a thousand watt bulb."Thanks, guys!You know, I've really been working hard and studying you guys moves!All that practice with you has helped me out a lot!In fact . . ."

Ken regarded Davis with analytical amusement as the other boy rattled on.He had never seen another boy . . . bubble.That was the only word for it.Davis was bubbly.The others seemed engrossed by the line of conversation (for, while Davis wasn't a very poignant or disciplined speaker, he was most certainly an enthusiastic one) and the Child of Kindness took the opportunity to step away and avoid Izzy's foreboding gaze.

The slender boy bent and picked up Minomon who had left the table and returned to his partner's side along with a proud Demiveemon.The little blue digimon had been lifted up by the mahogany-skinned boy and clambered up to rest in his dark hair.Ken stiffened as he stood, his fingers tightening around Minomon's cocoon and the little hairs on the back of his neck suddenly leapt upright to stiff attention. _Something . . . something is not right here._

"Ken?"Minomon looked up at his partner, confused.The boy's face was paler than normal and his pupils were dilated wide."What is it?"

A tingling began to crawl from the base of Ken's neck down his spine and out along his limbs, forcing the hair all over his body to stand on end.The tingling grew to an itch and then a terrible burning that shot back up his body and then concentrated itself behind his eyes.Ken dropped Minomon, oblivious to his cry or the others' stares, and his hands flew to his head, covering his tightly closed eyes.A tortured moan ripped out his throat.

"Ken?!"Minomon waved his arms helplessly and looked frantic."Ken?!"

Then the pain peaked and vanished and stars seemed to explode behind his eyelids.The energy that he felt trembling inside him was wrenched away with terrible finality and. . . moved out of him to his right.

Where Davis was standing.

Ken's head snapped up."Get down!" he yelled as he threw himself at Davis and knocked the shorter boy to the ground.The other Digidestined leapt backwards in surprise and confusion. 

"Ow!Wh—"The words stopped just short of Davis's lips.A gaping hole had been torn through the very fabric of time and space right over the spot where Davis had been standing.It was a Digiport.

Izzy's eyes were as round as saucers."Prodigious . . ."

"A Digiport?!"Yolei's gaze skipped from face to face in a desperate search for answers."How did it open?Where's the computer?Well?!Who opened the 'Port?"

Ken and Davis untangled themselves from one another and Davis's paled face moved to stare at the gateway in total shock.He turned his huge eyes to Ken."You saved my life," he whispered in awe.

Ken didn't even hear him.

TK and Patamon approached the Portal and peered inside cautiously.

"Be careful!" Kari chided, taking a step towards them.

"Everything appears to be okay," the blond said doubtfully.

"Just wait a minute," Izzy said sharply, finding both his wits and his laptop at the same time."We have to be certain that it's safe before anyone even thinks of going through that Digiport!"TK stepped away from the Portal and the maroon-haired Keeper of Knowledge began to type busily, oblivious to anyone's actions.

Chibimon left his partner's side and hopped up to the gate and looked through with wide ruby eyes."It looks safe enough to me!" declared the fearless blue digimon and promptly stuck a flipper through the gate.

"No!Wait!" Davis and Ken's voice both rang out in identical horror as they scrambled to stop the digimon.They were too late.

A bright flash of light exploded from the Digiport at Demiveemon's touch.Everyone gasped and pulled back, cringing slightly.When the light was gone, six of the Children were missing.

Tai looked from Matt's shocked face to Izzy's, wearing an identical expression.He shook his head in denial."What the HELL just happened here?!"

Izzy stood and stared blankly at the space where the Digiport had been.His voice was an echo of its normal confidence."They're . . . gone."

**************

Demidevimon fluttered anxiously around Arukenimon's head as they huddled down in the underbrush around clearing just in time to see two ghostly figures vanish.Gennai stared at the spot where they had been for a long moment and then shook his head.Arukenimon watched with avid curiosity as the traveler clenched his eyes shut and arched his back.His face twisted as though he was in pain.Totally disregarding both safety and common sense, the white-haired woman stood up and leaned forward to get a better look.White light wrapped around Gennai and pulsed outward, lifting the young man a good three or four feet off the ground.The light flashed brightly once and Gennai disappeared.

Arukenimon's mouth dropped open and Demidevimon was so surprised that he stopped flapping his wings, an act which result in him hitting the ground with a painful thud.Where Gennai had been, a Digiport snapped open with an angry buzz and moments later, six small bodies were pulled through and the Portal snapped shut, hissing its displeasure.

Arukenimon's eyebrow shot up until her hat hid them."It's the brats."

The six forms were laid out in a circle in the clearing, their digimon laying at their sides.They appeared to be asleep.

After a moment of speculation, the tall woman walked out into the clearing and bent down to examine the Child closest to her.An Armadillomon was curled up next to him.Ignoring Demidevimon's frantic whispers, she stood back up, frowned, walked around to the boy's other side, and proceeded to kick the little boy in the ribs.

Her foot passed right through him.

"Hmph, this is going to be harder than I thought."

"What's wrong with them?" demanded Demidevimon as he stood through Yolei Inoue's chest and frowned at the ground.He flapped his wings again and fluttered around the woman's white hair."How come we can see them but we can't touch them?"

"They're not totally in this dimension anymore.Their bodies are here, but their minds, hearts, and souls are with the Guardians."She scowled behind her glasses."Basically, only a portion of their data was sent to the Digital World, so only a portion of their information is represented."

"Oh."

Arukenimon waltzed over to where Ken lay and looked down at his prone body with something akin to hunger.She made a small noise of disgust."This is sickening!Here you are, laid out for me like a platter, helpless!! And I can't touch one perfect hair on your pretty little head."She glared at him hatefully.

"This changes things, Arukenimon," protested Demidevimon.

"Oh," the woman turned around with an innocent smile."This just changes the field, not the battle."

"But how am I supposed to kill the Takaishi boy if I can't touch him?"

She grinned at the undead's growing discomfort.An idea was beginning to form in her warped mind and she cast a grateful glance at Ken._One perfect hair on your pretty little head . . ._

She licked her lips in anticipation as the little rookie began to shy away from her, some over-wrought instinct screaming at him that his "partner" was not really safe to be around.Her smile was a knife, cutting through his growing fear and going straight to mortal terror."Hmm.Lord Devimon was not strong enough to withstand Angemon, let alone the possibility of Magna Angemon.Perhaps the next level then?"

"Wha-what a-are you talking about?" stuttered Demidevimon.

She took a step towards him. A gloved hand reached up and yanked out three long strands of white hair.The strands stiffened like silver needles."This will hurt, but rest assured, you will be thanking me later._Spirit Needle!_" 

The silver projectile flew at Demidevimon and struck the fleeing undead square in the back.Demidevimon screamed.Images overloaded his mind and he felt like he was falling into a puddle of broken glass.His body seemed to out-growing his skin.

_ _

_A ray of light . . .A screaming angel . . .A crying child . . . "**Hand of Fate!!!**"" 'The smallest will destroy me . . .' " "Angemon, be careful!ANGEMON!!!!!!"_

Demidevimon's words were gasps of pain."W—What iizz . . . th—thisss?!"

"Your revenge, Demidevimon.Or perhaps I should say Lord Damon."

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	21. The First Deception

For They Shall Be Filled

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain**

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**Vain**:Story.Read.Review.NOW.

**Ken**:I think she means read and review.Oh, and she's still accepting Guardian info.Thanks!

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**_~"For the hearts of this people have grown dull.Their ears are hard of hearing, _**

**_and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, _**

**_lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them._**

**_But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear . . ."_****__**

**-Matthew 13: 15 and 16**

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**Part Twenty**

**"Gennai is not pleased with our decision to test the Children in this manner.I fear that he may feel the need to take steps to guard against it."**

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**"Gennai is our servant.He knows his place."**

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**"And if he decides otherwise?"**

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**"He will not."**

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**"You seem to be quite sure of yourself, my friend.Have you forgotten that he is first and foremost the Children's Guardian?"**

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**"Your doubts will be the end of you.He knows his duty."**

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**"Precisely.And his duty is to the Digidestined."**

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**"And that is all that's disturbing you?"**

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**"No . . . There is something more.I feel a great foreboding."**

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**"Are you frightened now?You always were so weak—getting attached to humans the way you do."**

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**"Say what you wish, but I sense a great power coming into being."**

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**"I respect you, but you can be very foolish sometimes.**

** **

**"And you, my friend, are overzealous!"**

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**"Enough.We have committed ourselves to this course of action.Would you pull out now?"**

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**"Of course not.I merely wished to point out—"**

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**"Point taken.The Testing must begin now."**

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** **

******************

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**Trial # 1: Yolei Inoue**

Yolei blinked several times as the flash of light faded.She looked across the grass to see the others all sprawled out on the field.Her boyfriend lay next to her and Izzy and Poromon lay on her other side.The wine-haired girl sat up, adjusted her glasses, and, after carefully waking her little pink digimon, gently touched her boyfriend on the cheek."Ken?" she whispered."Ken-chan, wake up."

The boy groaned and violet eyes fluttered open.He groaned."Yolei?Lei-chan, what happened?"

"Demiveemon stuck his arm through the portal and it exploded."

"I guess it wasn't safe."

"I guess not."A crick in her neck made the girl grunt.

Ken sat bolt upright and reached out to gently grasp her shoulders, concern and love shone in his eyes."Are you alright?"

She frowned as she looked at him, her brow furrowing and fear and confusion dancing across her deeply carved features." . . . No.Something's wrong."She pushed herself to her feet and her heart nearly leapt into her throat when she remembered Izzy on the ground.

"Izzy!"Yolei dropped to her knees next to him."Oh, no."

Ken looked up from where he was hunched over Minomon and watched her in bewilderment."Lei-chan . . .?What's wrong?"

She whirled around to look at him in irritation."Stop calling me that!"

"But I always call you that."

By now the others were stirring.

Yolei blinked in response, surprised by her own actions.She then blushed and stared at the ground."I know.I'm sorry; I guess I'm just overwrought," she apologized lamely."I'm sorry to snap at you.You should go help the others." 

He pouted, but lifted up his digimon and did as he was told. "Okay, Yolei . . . If that's what you want . . ."

Yolei turned her attentions back to Izzy."C'mon, Iz.Please wake up."Poromon fluttered around anxiously in a failed attempt to be helpful.

Nonetheless, their efforts were rewarded when the older boy groaned and opened his nearly black eyes.He sat up and rubbed his head with an offended air."Perhaps next time you'll listen to me," he chided Demiveemon who was fluttering around Davis a few feet away.

The little in-training blushed and buried his tiny face in his partner's arm as Davis pushed himself upright.The Keeper of Courage and Friendship shot Izzy an annoyed glance."It was an accident, man.Demi didn't mean anything by it.

Izzumi grunted.

Yolei pulled back, only to find Ken's arms gently encircling her waist.She lurched away and wheeled around to face him, hands clenched into fists at her sides.The boy wonder pulled back with his arms raised defensively."What is with you, Yolei?!Did you hit your head?"Minomon looked shocked.

"Yolei?" Kari asked as she walked forward."What's wrong?"

Gatomon and Patamon eyed her curiously and the cat-like champion shrugged."She's finally lost it," she declared in a bored tone.

TK's arm was casually slung around the Child of Light's waist and the confusion in his face mirrored that of everyone else."Is something wrong with Yolei?"

With a dark frown of concern, Ken approached the startled girl with his arms extended, cautiously this time."Lei-chan?"

She bit her lip and then leaned into his embrace."My head feels funny."

He gently led her over to the picnic table and sat her down.Davis, Tai and Matt's worried faces floated past her vision and she buried her face in Ken's shoulder.She felt his chest vibrate as he spoke and gently stroked her long hair."Please tell us what's wrong."

She pulled away with tears simmering in her soft lavender eyes."I—no, it's nothing.I just . . . I need some air."

Ken bit his lip and looked over her head at the others.He turned back to her."Is it something I did, love?"

"No, it's nothing like that, Ken-chan, I . . . I'm just a little dizzy."

The girl freed herself from the loose embrace and got up, trying to ignore Ken's worried frown as it burned a hole into her back._It's nothing that you did, Ken_, she thought as she walked off, losing herself to the cool forest._It's me.How are you supposed to tell your best friend that you weren't in love with him?We've been together since that first soccer game—he loves me.But I don't love him . . . at least, not like that._

When she had discovered that she had caught the fancy of the famous Ken Ichijouji Yolei had been thrilled.Ken, _the_ Ken, Ichijouji liked her.They had begun dating immediately.Discovering that he had a D-3 had been almost too much.Sure, there were a couple of nasty scrapes in the Digital World against the Emperor (Cody Hida may have been small, but he was also very dangerous, especially after he had run away), but Ken and Davis always lead their team to victory, or at least a draw.But the more time passed, and the longer they were together, Yolei learned more and more about him . . . and found herself attracted to him less and less.

When they had begun dating, Yolei had consented for three reasons: (1) He was cute, (2) He was Ken Ichijouji and Ken Ichijouji always got what he wanted, and (3) Everyone expected her to yes.So she had.But she wasn't cut out for Ken.She simply could not make herself love him.She tried, god knows she had tried, but the more she tried the less she loved him.It was getting to the point where she was almost repelled by him.

Ken had an intensity about him, an aura of profundity that he projected to the world.A month into their relationship, Yolei discovered that it wasn't merely an aura—it was Ken.And that scared the hell out of her.Ken was like Kari—ethereal and untouchable; but if Kari was the sun, then Ken was the moon.He was moody, changing, luminous, and somehow almost something sacred, but with a dark side as deep as a black hole.Yolei had thought that that was an act.How was she supposed to know that that was him?

_What's that old saying?_ she thought with a humorless smirk._Fools rush in where angels fear to tread._Abruptly the smirk turned rictus.That was something Izzy would say._Izzy_.

That was a whole separate issue, yet therein lay her problem—or at least a big chunk of it.She was in love with Izzy Izzumi.And, as if her involvement with Ken wasn't trial enough, she knew for a fact the Mimi was in love with him, too.

_Damn.No matter what I do, someone gets hurt.I'm lying to everyone now.I'm lying to Ken and leading him on.I'm deceiving Izzy about the nature of my feelings towards him, and if I have to hear Mimi sigh and gush over him one more time, I'll kill myself!_

_"Yolei,"_ Mimi would say over the phone or by IM or e-mail, _"You are so lucky to have a guy like Ken who adores you and would do anything for you."_

And he would!She knew he would.Ken put her on a pedestal so high she could barely see the earth, let alone the ground.He loved her so much it was painful.It would kill him if he discovered the truth.But the lies were killing her . . .

And what would the others say?They would certainly side with Ken, and rightfully so.How could she justify the little charade?Say that she did it for love?Well, she did, but that didn't make it right.Mimi would have a coronary if she discovered Yolei's feelings towards her "Iz-chan."

_What do I do?What can I do?_

She certainly couldn't go back to the campsite and face the patient and boundless love in Ken' eyes again.It was like an acid knife twisting slowly in her soul.But she couldn't just stay here either.

And Gennai's test was today too.Double damn.He had told them that having skeletons in the closet would not be a good idea for this—but she didn't want to break anyone's heart.

_This isn't fair_.

"Yolei?!"

"Lei-chan?!"

And it just kept getting worse.That was Ken and Izzy, she'd bet her very soul on it.The two people she wanted to see both more and less than anything in the world were looking for her._I can't ever get away_, she thought with a growing sense of claustrophobia._I can never ever be free of this burden.They'll always pursue me . . _. And between the two of them, she didn't stand a chance.

"I'm here!" she called, running her fingers through her hair in an admittedly half-assed attempt to compose herself.She wiped her face absently._Tears?_Now where had they come from? 

The two boys entered the area where she was together.Ken immediately went to her side."Are you okay?" he asked.

"Don't."She pulled away from him.

Ken sighed and pain spasmed over his face."What?!" he cried at last in exasperation."Am I suddenly poison?What is going on with you?"

Yolei looked away from him to the ground—to anything that wasn't those anguished eyes.

Izzy frowned and looked from her face to Ken's and back.He advanced towards her with an outstretched arm."Yolei—"

Months of tension suddenly tore out of her in one instant, her senses taking flight and her sensibility shattering beneath the pressure of her guilt."NO!!!!" Yolei wailed.She threw herself blindly away from both of them and dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself as though in pain."You want to know what's going on?" she snarled in a foreign voice."Do you?!"She stood, spun around, and advanced on Ken as he stepped back, alarmed by the menace in her carriage.Her voice dropped to a whisper."Do you?"

Ken looked into her eyes and saw a stranger.

"I'm in love with Izzy."

"…"

The bombshell announcement fell on the clearing and plunged them all into silence.Yolei was shaking with force of her emotions and Ken looked at her blankly, half-afraid for her sanity.The confession didn't sit particularly well with the Child of Knowledge either.His face fell into an empty expression of non-comprehension.

Ken shook his head slowly and gripped Yolei's shoulders.He stared into his girlfriend's eyes and spoke slowly, as one does to an ailing child.". . . No."The word was not a denial, it was an outright refusal.Things like this did not happen to Ken Ichijouji.Perhaps they did in some other world, but in this one such a thing was not possible.

Yolei saw the refusal in his eyes and heard it in his word, but she could also see fear beyond that.Fear and something terrible.There were no words to describe that other emotion she saw in Ken's intense violet-blue eyes.If it was possible for eyes to bleed pain, then that is what she saw when she looked at Ken.His soul was raw and bleeding. 

"Yes," she shook her head in a contradicting manner."Please, Ken! I. Love. Izzy."

Impact.The refusal was gone, taking with it the fear.This was a blow that life would not spare him.His face crumbled and he bit his lip hard.Blood slip down his chin as he shook his head."… No!"

Yolei's tears resurfaced and slid down her cheeks, cool streaks against her burning skin."Yes.I'm so sorry."

Then Ken was gone.Calling upon all the speed deserving of his name, "Rocket," Ken Ichijouji turned and fled into the forest.Yolei did not pursue him.She couldn't.

A movement behind her startled the wine-haired girl and she turned to see Izzy standing about a foot away.She looked up at him, eyes large and luminous with tears.

And he slapped her.

It wasn't hard, just enough to hurt, just enough to drive his words across and nail them into her heart with steel stakes."You disgust me."

Then Izzy was gone too, and Yolei was alone with a bruise on her cheek, tears in her eyes, and unable to believe that she had just done what she had done.But she had . . . she had!And it could never be undone.Her legs collapsed beneath her."I've lost him," she whispered numbly."I've lost them both."

An unimaginable weight settled in heart and she drew her knees up to her chest.Her sobs shook her entire body._I've lost them both . . ._

**You are worthy.**

"What?!" Yolei looked around blindly._I'm hearing voices now?_

**Remember, Child.You have been found worthy.**

The odd nagging feeling vanished and the weight on her heart lessened.

_I'm worthy?_"This?" she gasped, "This was my test?!"

The false memories in her mind began to fade away._Ken isn't my boyfriend and Izzy . . . Oh my GOD!!_The reality of what had just happened to her was like a slap in the face—her second one in so many minutes.

**We are pleased with you, Child of Love and Sincerity.**

"You bastards!!!" she shrieked in rage.She was on her feet and shaking with fury, her hair whipping about her as she gestured wildly."How _dare_ you!!How dare you invade my mind and use my fears against me!What gives you the goddamn _right_?!"

**We had no choice.If you could not withstand this darkness in your soul, you would not have withstood the Dark One.**

"You're all sick!You're sick twisted freaks!You know what you can do with your 'Dark One?'You can take him and shove him up your—"

**It was necessary.**

"Necessary?Playing mind games is 'necessary?' "

**You had to know Hatred.You had to know Deception and Unrequited Love.**

"Why?!" she screamed, half a shout and half a sob."Why?!So you people could get your twisted jollies?!"

**Because for all Darkness, there must be an equal amount of Light.To strengthen the Light in your soul we had to strengthen the Darkness.If you were to remain on the path of Light it was necessary that you draw upon the natures of your Crests to introduce it.It had to be your choice.**

"My choice?" the shaken Digidestined whispered in disbelief."My choice?That wasn't my choice," she spat out the words in disgust, "that was spiritual rape."

**… We are sorry for your pain, Child.**Yolei almost believed it.Almost.**Sleep now.Rest and be Blessed.Your trial is over.**

Exhaustion slid into her mind, but she fought it tooth and nail."No!I won't let you do this to me again.I won't let you do this to my friends—"But it was a losing battle and with a few stubborn blinks, she succumbed.As she drifted off she felt an incredible lightness settle over her heart and warmth suffuse her.Yet somehow, beyond that, Yolei was very much aware of the black weight that had burrowed deep within her soul.It danced across the Light like oil and clung to her, a black veil weighing down on her heart.She knew without being told that it was a weight that would never be lifted. 

**************

**"She passed.You are not pleased with the results?"**

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**"Have you sensed nothing from the Digital World?"**

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**"No.Why do you persist in this fantasy?Gennai is there. What could go wrong?"**

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**"Famous last words.I still stand against this."**

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**"You know that you were outvoted."**

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**"Yes . . . but still, I wonder that Love was not right.Perhaps we are no better than that which we despise."**

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**"This is for our own safety as well as that of the Digital World."**

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**"And that is justification for our actions?"**

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**"Yes.The next Test begins."******

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	22. The Second Deception

For They Shall Be Filled

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

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**__________________________________________________________**

**Vain**:Have you seen the Kaiser, Ken?

**Ken**:No. Why?

**Vain**:That's funny, because Remy says you have . . . Something about a sewer, I recall?

**Ken**:I have no idea what you are talking about.We're still looking for Guardian info.Please R&R.

**Vain**:Are you sure you don't know where he is?

**Ken**: . . .Um, Enjoy the fic!

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**_~ "Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means you will by no means _**

**_get out of there till you have paid the last penny."_****__**

**-Matthew 5: 26******

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**Part Twenty-One**

**Trial # 2: Kari Yagami**

It was sunny out.It shouldn't have been—not on this day.Kari stood over the coffin and felt tears slide down her cheeks.Her eyes, an odd variance between redwood brown and fiery ruby, were dull and lifeless.The press, heartless bastards that they were, had published the unedited original copy of his suicide note; it called her by name several times.

Tai had never mentioned that to her.He had been the one to find the body, worried when his young protégé hadn't shown for their scheduled practice.He had been the one to find the note, too.

Kari still had a copy of it in her pocket, torn haphazardly from the aforementioned newspaper.

_To whom it concerns,_

_Does it really concern any of you, though?I guess you're all wondering why I did this.This goes way beyond even my normal stupidity, right?That just shows how much attention you people paid to me.It's really hard to be surrounded by people who have everything.Yolei has brains.Cody has street smarts and sensibility.Ken has, well, he's Ken.Tai is a great soccer player and a better leader than I'll ever be.TK is just Mr. Perfect and you guys always listen to him more than me anyways.Matt, he's kinda like Ken: they're famous for just being them.Everybody loves Mimi.Sora's got wisdom and that take charge ability that girls got.Joe is dependable.Izzy's saved our assess more than we can all count.Where the hell does that leave me?What do I have to offer the cause?Goggles?Wait a minute, those aren't really mine, either, are they?Borrowed_ _goggles.Yeah, that'll really show those 'mons!Yeah, that's sarcasm.I can do that.Did you know that?_

_But I'm leaving somebody out, aren't I?Kari Yagami.The One.The GIRL.Grace, Light, beauty, strength courage.Did I leave something out?Probably.You've got more than anyone else, Kari.Maybe that's why you never even gave me the time of day.What was I to you?A toy?Lip-gloss?Just one more attachment to your happiness?Something that was nice, but that you'd never really miss?Well?But who am I to say these things to you?Nobody.At least that's what you told me.Oh, you never **said** it, but I knew.I'm a lot smarter than you think.Every time you laughed at me or made fun of me, every time you all left me behind, I knew.I really do pay attention to what's going on.Sure, I know I'm not the smartest, or the fastest, or the brightest, or the cutest of us all, but I'm still human.Did you think it was a game?It wasn't.I LOVED YOU.But, oh well, right?I mean I **am** just Davis, after all.Why the hell should I matter to you?Game point, guys.You win._

_~Davis Motomiya_

They never told her about the note, though.Trying to protect her perhaps—she didn't know, but it had been hard reading it in the paper that morning.Tai saw the look on her face as she read the second page (it was a page two story) and knew without asking what she had seen.

_"Why didn't you tell me?"_ she had demanded.

_"Tell you what?"_ her brother retorted, opening the refrigerator with unnecessary violence._"That he blamed you?That he died hating you?"_

She flinched at his words.

_"… I'm sorry, Kari."_

They didn't speak to one another until they left the house.

Everyone had come to the funeral. TK and Tai stood by her side for support, Tai holding onto Davis's—his goggles like they were his sole source of strength.Yolei was comforting Cody, or vise versa, next to Izzy and Joe.Mimi had flown in from New York and leaned heavily on Sora, her delicate features puffy with grief.Even Ken had materialized somewhere off to her right, looking coldly pale and beautifully severe in his black suit.

Kari gazed down into the gaping hole where Davis now lay and felt it mirror her soul._We brought you to this,_ she thought as she stared blankly at the oak box.**_I_**_ brought you to this.I never deserved your heart, my friend.I should be the one laying there, not you—never you.You brought life to the Digidestined.You were our heart, Davis.You stood up against the Digimon Emperor.You single-handedly found Ken's Crest and brought down his base.You held us together, stopped our bickering, made each of us feel like a part of the team.You never let us down.And we never once told you that.We screwed up, Davis.I screwed up—and now you're dead_.

A hand touched her arm; it was TK.His vibrant eyes were looking down at her anxiously."Kari, it's time to go."

"Already?"She looked around in confusion and, sure enough, saw that everyone was leaving.In fact, the only ones left were the Digidestined, waiting for her.

"C'mon," Tai said, offering her a hand."Let's go."

Mimi returned to America via Digiport for some important thing for her parents and Ken vanished as unobtrusively and inexplicably as he had appeared.The remaining Children returned to the Yagami's house where their digimon were waiting.Veemon had vanished the day of Davis's suicide, but there were rumors that he had been wandering the Digital World, crazed with grief and randomly attacking anything or one that approached him.

_More blood on our hands_, Kari thought dully as she slipped off her shoes in the doorway.

But Veemon's reportedly growing insanity was just one problem in the massive pile that had toppled on their heads with Davis's death.Although they never knew it, their former leader had kept a close eye on the Digital World and had made a great many friends there.If Davis ever saw a problem and the others were unavailable he'd either go fix it or ask a digimon to do it.With his death, that clean up job had ceased and problems began piling up faster than the other children could keep up with them.They had had no idea what he had done for them until they had to do it themselves—and they couldn't.

Davis was the soul of the Digidestined, without him they just couldn't function.

A few hours went by as they sat and reminisced.Occasionally someone would laugh at a half-buried memory and the atmosphere would lighten to match the chirping birds outside, then a hush would fall as though they suddenly remembered the solemnity of the day and the tension would return with a vengeance.

Finally, Kari could take it no more.She stood, nearly dropping Gatomon as the feline struggled to get out of her lap."I'm going for a walk."She was vaguely aware of the other's protests, but she didn't care.She had to get out of there.Now.

Then she was at the beach beneath Rainbow Bridge.She didn't know how she had gotten there or why she was there, but she suddenly found herself standing at the top of the staircase and looking down at the surf.As the Child of Light, weird things had happened to Kari Yagami.She could see spirits.She had once spoken in tongues.When she was younger, she had even been possessed once or twice.She knew when "other forces" were trying to tell her something.And she knew when to listen.

Kari took a deep steadying breath and walked down the stairs._Alright, Fate, you wanted me here—_"Here I am."Now ruby-colored eyes closed as she concentrated, sending her thought to any entity that could possibly have been looking for her._HERE I AM._

_ _

_Here am I,_ her thought echoed back."It's so good of you to join me, Kari."

The Child of Light spun, a little frightened, but not at all surprised to see the shade of Davis Motomiya glaring back at her.He was dressed the way he appeared in the Digital World, flame jacket and kaki shorts immaculate.His old square-shaped goggles were perched on his head instead of Tai's and a dark leer twisted his normally open countenance into something cruel and ugly.

"Come to look down at your nose at me some more?" he asked, boasting his unpleasant expression like a new outfit.

Kari felt tears well up in her eyes."What's happened to you?"

He snorted."I died."

"This . . . this is wrong. . . It's not supposed to be like this."

The ghost shrugged."Oh, I'm sorry.Still not meeting your expectations?Geez, I can't even die well enough for you, can I?"

The girl stepped back, for the first time in years afraid of a spirit."You're not Davis.What are you?"

"You're right, Kari," he agreed, stepping forward to keep the distance between them."I'm not Davis.He is currently rotting in a hole in the ground _because of you_."

"What are you?"

The shade grinned."A little dose of reality."

_That voice . . ._ Kari knew that voice.Gatomon still woke up screaming his name . . .

"Myotismon."

"Very good," the faux Davis congratulated."You always were a bright one.How's Gatomon?"

Kari clenched her fists at her side and tried to draw away from the spirit."What do you want from me, Myotismon?"

"Oh come now," psuedo-Davis said with an absent wave of a spectral hand."Can't I even drop by to say hello.After all this time, I figured that it would be nice to come and watch your decent into darkness."

Kari's brow darkened in confusion."What?"Then Kari shook her head."This is wrong—you can't be here: we destroyed you!"

"Hmph.Well, I wouldn't be the last."

"No!I didn't know—"

"You must be stupid!What did he need to do?Paint you a sign?He lived one your every word."The shade leaned back and put a gloved hand on his hip, smirking suddenly."Looks like he died on them, too."

"No!"Kari put her hands over her ears and wheeled around in an attempt to escape the specter."You're not Davis!Davis was my friend; he would never say such things to me!"

"On the contrary, girl," he mocked as he appeared in front of her, "Just how well did you really know your 'friend?'"

"What?"

"What exactly do you think he felt about your constant rejections?Just because he didn't wear his heart on his sleeve as much as you like to think, doesn't mean that he was just going to roll over and let you trample him!How do you think I've gathered the strength to appear here?I've fed on the anger and confusion that was left on this plane after Davis decided to inhale a bottle of aspirin.I used the frustration he felt from your scorn.I'm Davis's rage.And he left behind quite a bit of unfinished business."

Kari's eyes widened in horror at this revelation.Her mind rapidly put together the meaning behind his words.She back-peddled and tripped over her own feet, tumbling into the sand."T—that's not possible."

"Oh, but it is!" he crowed triumphantly as he advanced on the fallen Digidestined."It is!Face it, Kari: you killed Davis.You made me!And guess what I'm gonna do!"His amusement grew with Kari's fear."You think that Ichijouji made your lives miserable?He was alive!Just imagine the kind of damage that I can do!"

"But you can't!" she implored with extended arms."You're just a shadow!"

"Hmph.Do you really believe that?"

"Please don't hurt my friends."

"Gee, let me think: NO!If I'm a just a shadow, what do you have to worry about?"He began to vanish, his legs slowly disappearing and then his hips.When only his shoulders and head were left he looked down at her almost sadly."I once wanted to offer you a place by my side . . .Tell me, would you have refused me?"

"Yes."

"Will you refuse me now?"

Kari pushed herself up to her feet and advanced on the ghost menacingly."Leave my friends alone!" she yelled in a strained and panicked voice.

"Make me."

So Kari did the only thing she could do: she made him.The Light in her Crest was used to channel spirits, to understand them, but never to control them.Forced control was a tool of the Dark, a power that she had shunned long ago.But now, for the first time in her life, she embraced that Darkness within her.Kari reached within her soul, felt the Light, and then went _deeper_.She pushed through the warmth and found an intoxicating wealth of cool shadows that flowed up to meet her with frightening ease.

Unlike the Light, which had to be directed, the Darkness knew her needs better than she did, and with the sweet promise of an easy solution, effortlessly bound Myotismon's twisted spirit and drug it back down to Kari's level of awareness.And it felt good.

Kari stared in open amazement at the amount of raw power she could draw—and she was nowhere near her limit.

The faux Davis writhed in fury."How did you do this?" he screamed."You can't possibly have done this!"

Kari's mouth moved before she thought of what was coming out of it."But you asked me to."

_Take him_, the dark power hummed in her veins._Go ahead, he can't fight you.You have to protect your friends.Take him.Take his energy for your own.It's not even his, really; he just stole it from Davis . ._ . 

Images began to appear in her mind.She could do it.It would be simple . . . just a touch of power and he would be out of their lives once and for all.

The spirit seemed to sense her thoughts."Going to kill me again?" he asked in a taunting voice.

Kari's head snapped up and all her doubts vanished.She could feel the Darkness surging within her."You're not Davis," she stated flatly."Davis is already dead."

Then the Darkness roared out of her, a torrent of power that reached into the spirit she had bound and _pulled_.The energy that was the spirit was sucked out and Myotismon screamed, a loud tortured shriek that would have made Kari's hair stand on edge if the power didn't feel so very good.She felt the transfer as the life energy in the spirit dropped drastically as she was infused with that same energy.And she wanted more.

The image before her flickered crazily for a moment until Davis's image vanished only to be replaced by a tall figure in a blue trench coat.Myotismon flickered weakly, like a dying candle, and his eyes burned with hatred."Welcome to the other side of the fence, Child of Light."

_Child of Light_.Kari mentally shoved the name away and wrapped herself deep within the folds of the stolen power._Child of Light_.She had never felt so alive before.Her every nerve hummed with vibrance and it felt like millions of sparks were dancing beneath her skin._Child of Light_.She felt absolutely full, almost like she would burst._Child of Light._But she also felt absolutely empty, like she was going to collapse on herself.She needed more._Child of Light._

_Kari . . ._

A thought brushed against her fever haze and began to push obtrusively into her awareness_.Kari.Kari, stop!Wake up, Kari!_

Kari's eyes snapped open, unnaturally bright ambers, and she found herself looking straight into Davis's face.Not Myotismon—the real Davis.

_My God, Kari … What have you done?_

Abruptly the haze was gone. Kari's hands flew to cover her mouth as she felt the darkness in her sink back down into the depths of her soul.But she could still hear—feel it—whispering to her, promising her everything.Kari staggered back away from the gently accusation in Davis's eyes.

"… Oh, God, oh God, oh, God.What—NO!"

For the first time in her life, she had willingly opened her heart up to the Darkness.She had opened her heart to the Darkness.

Kari froze as Davis's sad face vanished.She wanted to scream.She wanted to pull out her hair.She wanted to fall to the ground and weep forever._Child of Light_—she didn't deserve that name. 

**You are worthy.**

Kari remained frozen, unable to comprehend anything.She had opened her heart to Darkness.

**You are worthy**, the voice repeated.

"What?" Kari looked around blankly.She was alone.

**Remember, Child.You have been found worthy.**

"Remember?Remember what?Who are you?"

This seemed to amuse the voice.**We are what we have always been.Remember, Child of Light.**

"Wha—"Memories washed over her like a tidal wave.Dreams.A picnic.Camping.Ken and Davis playing soccer.Davis . . . Davis was alive.

**We are pleased with you, Child of Light.**

"That was my test?"Kari's eyes flashed with anger.She wrapped arms around her waist protectively and looked out over the waves.The false waves—they weren't really there.Her voice sounded small and empty."It was a cruel test."

**We had no choice.If you could not withstand this darkness in your soul, you would not have withstood the Dark One.**

Kari closed her eyes in an effort to keep control of her temper.Her face contorted and tears slid down her cheeks."It was a CRUEL TEST."

**… We are sorry.It was necessary.**

"You've had your test now.Let me alone.

**… We are sorry for your pain, Child.****Sleep now.Rest and be Blessed.Your trial is over.**

Kari felt darkness steal upon her and closed her eyes.She tried to take comfort in the fact that nothing that had happened was real, but even as she drifted off into a deep healing sleep, she could feel the darkness in her soul. It was calling to her.Calming peace filled her, but couldn't quiet her spirit.Nothing ever would again.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	23. Two Conspiracy--The Singular

For They Shall Be Filled 21 B

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain**

** **

**__________________________________________________________**

**Vain**:Where's the Kaiser, Remy?

**Remy**:Je ne sais pas, chere.

**Vain**:Don't tell me that you're still mad at me!

**Remy**:Non, I read ahead.

**Vain**:Oh.Good.Mollified now?

**Remy**:Oui.M'I gonna get some action wit' dis Maddie femme?

**Vain**:. . .

**Remy**:Ask Ken 'bout de Kaiser.He was wit' him last.Oh, et FYI: he smelled like sewage.

**Vain**:Ken or the Kaiser?No, nevermind.I don't want to know . . . R&R PLEASE!

_ _

_ _

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

** **

**_~"What will you give me if I deliver Him to you?"_**

**_And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver._****__**

**-Matthew 26: 15******

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**Part Twenty-Two******

Lord Damon shifted, admiring his new form in the digital sunlight.Arukenimon watched him with a smile of satisfaction adorning her small mouth.

"I take it you are pleased."

The robed Mega digimon regarded her coldly from beneath his cowl._Insect_.Apparently, she still thought that she was dealing with a rookie—she would have to be taught otherwise.He looked away from the white-haired woman to the Child stretched out next to him.

The Child of Hope.

Damon regarded the blond and his Patamon intently as he compared the boy to his newly recovered memories_.This boy . . . He has grown much.The Patamon can only digivolve to Magna Angemon: an Ultimate.Hmm.They present no threat to me or my power._

"Didn't you hear me?!I asked you a question.You really should pay more attention to your Master."

_Master?_

The cowled head turned back to Arukenimon._She is only an Ultimate.Yet she thinks that she means something to me?Hardly._

He turned back to the boy.No, this Child was no threat to him.Still, there was something tugging on the edges of his awareness—something potent.There were lines of Power running here.They were strong.He followed the lines he sensed with his eyes.From Hope . . . to Light . . . to . . . to . . . Kindness?Kindness?Kindness was not a Sacred Crest.Demon walked over to the dark-haired boy with a hidden frown.His eyes flickered to the Wormmon curled up on the boy's chest in a protective embrace and lingered there for a moment in contempt._A wormmon—the weakest of the virus digimon—the most cowardly._

_Hmph._

_ _

_Kindness.What is so special about you, Child?The former Digimon Emperor, repentant for your actions, yet spiteful and contemptuous of your own remorse.But no, that does not make you anything.Arukenimon wants you, too.But where are these lines of Power running to?_

Damon focused his attention on the Child's Crest._This is . . . interesting . . . This Crest is weakened.It is most definitely the boy's Trait, but . . . It is incomplete.It is missing the Anti-Crest property.How is this possible?All Crests carry their Compliment dormant within the Crest . . . except this Child.And there are lines of Power running through the boy connecting him to the Sacred Crests . . . ?A halved Crest, a schism within the Child's soul, and lines of Power with the other two Sacred Crests: it all fits.Is it possible?And yet, there was a great darkness in this one's soul—it was an unnatural evil, something that was not his, but has merged with his soul to create something new—something familiar . . . _

Arukenimon cleared her throat loudly at Damon.The foreboding creature's head snapped up, angry at being interrupted.He had been close to something.

"Are you even listening to me?!" the pale woman demanded, arms akimbo."You have a job to do!The Brat Emperor is _not_ your concern—Hope is your target.Or have you forgotten what he did to you?"

_My target?__She actually thinks that I should submit to her . . .?_Damon turned away from Ken's limp body and approached Arukenimon.She was hovering expectantly over TK and tapping her pointed toes in aggravation.

Damon flowed over to her silently and raised a clawed hand over the sleeping Child's angelic form.The narrow woman resisted the urge to recoil in fear.Perhaps three strands had been just a bit too much.A Damon might be a bit more than she could handle alone. . .But she refused to let _him_ ruin this.That simpleton could do it without trying.Granted, she had been the one to force Demideveemon to his highest digivolution, but she had not expected Damon to be so . . . incredibly strong.Stronger than her.And so fast, too.

Yet Damon was in her debt.If it weren't for her, he would still be a flying bowling ball.

Arukenimon just hoped that he appreciated that.

**************

**"Light has received the Blessing?"**

** **

**"Yes.Are you still displeased?"**

** **

**"There is a saying on Earth in the land of America: This hurts me much more than it hurts you."**

** **

**"I fail to understand the relevance."**

** **

**"… Have you felt anything out of place yet?"**

** **

**"It is nothing.Shifting temporal winds.What more did you expect?It is difficult to work across dimensions."**

** **

**"And Gennai?"**

** **

**"It is taking most of our energy and concentration to maintain the separations of body and spirit."**

** **

**"…"**

** **

**"I am sure that everything is fine."**

** **

**"That does nothing to put me at ease."**

** **

**"Come.The next test begins." **

** **

**"Nor does that."******

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	24. A Failed Deception

For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

** **

**__________________________________________________________**

**Vain**:So where's Kai?

**Ken**:Vain doesn't own Digimon.

**Vain**:I know you can hear me, Ken.

**Ken**:A fact for which I am truly grateful.

**Vain**:Where's the Kaiser?

**Ken**:She's also still looking for Guardian info.

**Vain**:Answer me!

**Ken**:So send it to her, or she's using Ajora's notes.

**Vain**: Answer me damn you!!Quit ignoring me!

**Ken**:R&R, please.

**Vain**:I am going to write such Ken torture . . .

**Ken**:And please help me.Please . . .?

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

** **

**_~"Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!"_****__**

**-Matthew 23: 24******

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**Part Twenty-Three**

**Trial # 3: Davis Motomiya**

Davis Motomiya grinned at Tai and darted forward, dribbling the soccer ball in front of him."You gotta be faster, Tai-kun!"

"No fair," the other protested through a laugh.

"Like you should be talking!"Ken stole the ball with ease.The tall boy dashed up the field and scored a goal.

"Hey!"Davis yelped in protest."I'm on your team, Ichijouji.No steals allowed!"

"You're too slow!"

"Quit fighting and come eat!" Kari yelled from the sidelines.

"We're coming," Davis responded with a wave to his girlfriend.He carelessly threw an arm over Ken's shoulder."I still say that that was no fair."

"We won, didn't we?"Ken shrugged beneath Davis's arm."So what's the problem?"

"You two," gasped Tai as he caught up with them, "are no longer allowed to play on the same team."

The three of them paused and waited for TK while Tai caught his breath.Ken grinned at the flushed faces of the two boys."What's the matter, Tai?Can't you and TQ handle it?"

Tai gave the other boy a light shove."You and me, Ichijouji, anytime anywhere!"

"Keep bragging like that and I just may take you up on that offer."

Davis shook his head at their antics."We really need to do this more often," he declared as they met the others.

"What?" asked Cody from where he sat between Joe and Izzy.

"Picnic in the Digital World."

Ken sprawled himself down lazily on the blanket, briefly shifting to make room for TK.The blond nearly collapsed on top of him in exhaustion.Ken grinned again."When will Mimi and Sora arrive?"

"Soon," Matt grunted as Tai nearly sat on him.

Yolei looked over at the original goggle-boy in disgust."Do you think that you could _not_ sit on me when you're all hot and sweaty, Tai?"

Davis tossed her a can of cherry Pepsi."Where's the fun in that?"

Yolei had the grace to blush.

"We're here!" exclaimed Mimi.

The children all turned to watch her pink hair bounce into view beside the graceful glide of Sora.Palmon and Biyomon walked a bit in front of their partners.

"Mimi brought a quiche," Palmon declared proudly.

"Oh, goody," murmured Joe dryly.The last time Mimi cooked for their picnic, Joe had been ill for days.He actually missed a test.

Kari slipped out of Davis's grasp and moved forward, accepting the crock with the quiche and holding it out at arm's length as though it might attack her."Umm . . . thanks, Mimi.I'm sure the digimon will love it."

Veemon looked up from where the digimon all sat congregated on one corner of the blanket with a big bag of candy."You've gotta be kidding."

Mimi's bright countenance was obscured by a frown."What did he say?"

"He said, 'It'll be really filling,' " Davis filled in smoothly.

"Oh!" Mimi brightened once more."Thank you, Veemon."

"Sure," he replied with an uncomfortable smile."No problem."Wormmon and Agumon looked like they were about to explode from repressed laughter.

The picnic went smoothly; the only real incident involved Davis and Ken wearing most of the cherry pie at dessert.Everybody thought that this was incredibly amusing except for the Child of Kindness and his best friend.They declared that the rest of their lives would be spent plotting Matt and Tai's destruction for instigating the entire thing.This apparently only took five minutes: long enough for Ken to get a hold of the Cool Whip and a big wooden spoon while Davis discovered the reasons why Kari's Famous Chocolate Mousse is not considered aerodynamic—much to Kari's chagrin.After that, the four of them were ordered to go clean up in the nearby lake.

Davis was having the time of his life."You should have seen the look on your face," he howled as Matt diligently struggled to de-mouse his hair."I thought that you were going to pee your pants when that custard bowl came flying at you!"

"Like you need to talk," the older blond said, splashing him."You looked about ready to die when that pie pan was going to hit you!"

"At least I ducked so it missed me!"

"And hit me!"Ken shoved his friend into the water.

Davis yelped, windmilled his arms in a valiant attempt to stay upright, and fell face first into the water.The others laughed at him.

"Sure, it hit you," he groused, rubbing water out of his eyes, "but you really didn't have to peel it off and grind it into my hair."

Ken paused thoughtfully."Yes, Davis. Yes, I did."

"You shouldn't complain, anyway, goggle-boy," protested Tai."You didn't get half a container of Cool Whip shoved down your pants."

Ken laughed and pushed his soppy hair from his eyes."I'm just amazed that you held still that long.And that you didn't notice the wooden spoon in your underwear.Where _was_ your mind, goggle-boy?" 

Tai blushed bright red and two splashes later found both himself and Matt sitting in the water next to Davis.

Ken smiled smugly."You didn't really think you could take me, did you?"

Tai looked at Davis, Davis looked at Matt, and Matt looked at Tai.They all grinned."Dunk Ken!"As one, the three off them lunged forward, grabbed a part of Ken's body, and amid much struggle and protest, hauled the stunned boy into the water.

Ken coughed and gasped and sputtered."That was . . . *cough, cough* . . . very uncalled for."

Davis smirked and opened his mouth to say something but stopped and refocused his eyes just a bit beyond his friends.

"What is it?" asked Tai, the smile fading as his gaze followed Davis's.

There was a bright flash of light off to the West.

"We've got trouble," the younger boy responded, springing out of the water with a loud messy, splash.

"Huh?"Matt grabbed Tai and Ken and hauled them up with him."Davis?!Davis, wait up!Damnit!Davis!"

Davis broke through the underbrush that separated the beach from the picnic ground in one leap, digivice appearing in his hand."Veemon, digivolve now!"

"_Veemon digivolve to. . .X-Veemon!_"

Ken, Tai, and Matt appeared right behind the young hothead, all holding their digivices."Digivolve!"

_"Wormmon digivolve to . . . Stingmon!"_

_ _

_"Agumon digivolve to . . . Greymon!"_

_ _

_"Gabumon digivolve to. . . . Garurumon!"_

Davis pulled himself up onto X-Veemon's shoulders and turned to look down at his companions and . . . screamed.

Pain shot through every inch of Davis's body and the world exploded black.

**************

Gennai watched as Osamu chewed on a well-manicured fingernail.The older man looked amused."I didn't know ghosts could worry."

Osamu gave him a scathing glare in return."Ghosts.Hmph!"The boy shook his head, spiked hair trembling slightly at the motion."How unscientific.Beside, just because I'm dead doesn't mean that I'm not human."

Gennai wasn't sure how to respond to that so he said nothing.

"You're sure that your firewall will hold?" Osamu demanded.

"You were the one who insisted that I not be present when you do whatever it is you're going to do."

"But are you sure?!"

Gennai rolled his eyes."Yes.Why are you so upset?Nervous?"

"No . . . I sense something . . ."The boy shook his head."It's probably nothing."

After a minute or two of uncomfortable silence, Gennai looked over at his odd young companion."I have so many questions that I want to ask you."

"Goody for you."The youngster didn't even look at him.

"Ah."

"What?"That got the elder Ichijouji's attention."What is it?"

"Nothing."Gennai shrugged airily and lifted his arms."It's just I can see were your brother gets it from."

"Oh really?"Osamu's glasses flashed dangerously in the sun."Don't think that you understand us, traveler.I _love_ my brother—no matter what anyone says."

The traveler's eye narrowed."What happened between you two?"

"…"The teen turned away and looked in the general direction of the Digidestined."Ken's Test will be soon."

"Do you miss him?"

"What?"Ichijouji turned at looked at the other, face twisted in confusion.

Gennai waved a hand as he explained himself."Your brother.You miss him?"

"Why are you asking me these questions?!" the boy cried, agitated.

"… I'm sorry.I guess I'm just frustrated because I can't do anything.Some—"

Osamu's hand shot up in a violent slicing motion, cutting Gennai off.The spiked-haired boy cocked his head to the side as though listening to something."Do you feel that?"

Gennai stiffened and followed Osamu's gaze.He went cold to the depths of his soul."The Children," he half hissed, half whispered."The Children are in danger."

**************

**"NO!"**

** **

**"Courage!"**

** **

**"Halt the Test!_Halt the Test!_"**

** **

**"What are you doing?!You have harmed Courage!"**

** **

**"The Children are in grave danger!They must be awakened."**

** **

**"I told you that there was a dark presence nearby."**

** **

**"What is this?A ploy to stop the Testing?"**

** **

**"You are blinded by your fear of the Dark One!Hope is in danger and all you consider is the Testing."**

** **

**"Gennai is there.He would never allow the Children to come to harm!"**

** **

**"He is not!I have been trying to tell you that."**

** **

**"He . . . defied us?He defied us?!"**

** **

**"Stop it!The Children—the Children must be kept safe."**

** **

**"Agreed.We must awaken the Children."**

** **

**"Oh, no . . ."**

** **

**"What?"**

** **

**"I cannot reach Courage."******

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	25. The Distant Sound of Thunder

For They Shall Be Filled

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

** **

**__________________________________________________________******

** **

**Vain**: So where is he?

**Ken**:We still need Guardian stuff.R&R.

**Vain**:When I find him, I'm gonna leave you alone with him.For hours.And hours.

**Ken**:'Samu, come back . . . __

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

** **

**_~"O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! _**

**_How often I wanted to gather your children as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,_**

**_but you were not willing!"_****__**

**-Matthew 24: 3******

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**Part Twenty-Four**

Damon raised a clawed hand over the Child of Hope, noticing with distracted amusement that Arukenimon shifted back._No_, he thought as power coalesced in his palm._She is not worthy of me._The Mega waited patiently until he felt he had enough energy built up and then shifted his hand so that it rested about a foot above TK's head.A dark purple light shined along the outside of his hand.

Arukenimon leaned over eagerly, both amazed by and afraid of the massive amounts of power that he drew upon.A small voice in the back of her mind was screaming that she had made him too powerful.She locked it away.The Ultimate was torn—part of her wanted to stand and gloat and point at Damon and say, 'I did this!This is mine!'The other part was shrieking that she had overstepped her bounds and that Damon was not hers, nor anybody else's.That part wanted nothing more than to get as far the hell away from the newly evolved digimon as possible.Needless to say, the latter half was really quite tempting.

But one of Arukenimon's greatest weaknesses and strengths was pride.And her pride forbade her to even seriously consider that Damon was beyond her.

Therefore, it came as a great shock when the hand over Hope's head suddenly tilted up towards her, palm out.The woman staggered back, mouth dropping open in shock."Whu—"

"I call no one Master."

Non-light exploded out of Damon's hand and struck Arukenimon in the chest.She screamed in agony.There was a shower of white hair and a flash of red and purple as her body soared through the air.A sick, wet, _thunk_ resounded as her limp frame smashed into a nearby tree.She hit the ground and was still.

"Especially not one so weak as you, Arukenimon."

Damon smiled at her body.She was still alive, he knew, but it would be quite a while before she was ready to deal with anything or mon again.

The big Mega flowed back over to Ken's side and he reached out with his senses.That darkness . . . Yes, he had been correct.There was a Spore inside the boy.How interesting.It was very advanced now, infiltrating the Child's entire nervous, limbic, and immune systems.But the effects were being counteracted by something . . . It was the same thing that the lines of Power were attached to.

A cold laugh rumbled out of his chest."This . . . this is a great gift."Red eyes turned to Arukenimon's crumpled form."You have no idea what you posses here, do you?"He turned back to Ken."Do you?"

The bodies had solidified now—the Children would soon awaken.

Damon expanded his awareness and felt two energy forms moving towards him rapidly.One of them was that damnable traveler, Gennai, and the other was . . . unfamiliar.Foreign.It did not belong to this plane.For a brief instant, the Mega hesitated over Kindness's body, debating.Then the cowled head shook in a negative."No, Child.I will leave you with them for now.I must assemble the Corps and recover my strength—and you must discover yours."He laid a surprisingly gentle claw on Ken's forehead."I will come for you one day, though.Until then, grow, Child—learn."

The digimon stayed like that for a moment, implanting his own seeds in the boy's mind.They would not harm him, only heal and instruct the stubborn boy when the power came. Given time, they would perhaps come to fruition and make the transition easier on the Child.He would help him for now because it was in his best interest to keep the Child alive and away from Arukenimon and the Dark One.When he was at full strength he would lay claim to the boy—hopefully before Arukenimon understood the Child's potential.

That, however, meant that Hope had to remain alive.While the boy was no longer a definite threat to him, Damon did not want to give him the opportunity.But more than that, he wanted revenge.As Devimon, Damon had been very close to evolving and if Arukenimon's arrogance and stupidity hadn't forced him back to power so rapidly, it could have taken him centuries to reach that stage again.Now he had reached it in a matter of minutes.It would only be a few short weeks before all of his memories were complete and his full power restored.He wondered if the woman knew the kind of magic she wielded.He doubted it; it was really quite a pity.

Hope and Light—two of the biggest threats to his power—needed to remain alive and well if Kindness was to reach his potential.The Sacred Triangle had to be whole, all the members drawing strength from one another, to be effective.And that was the only way that the Dark One—another threat to Damon—could be properly dealt with.

The Mega shook his head again and walked over to Arukenimon's body.The Children's souls were now fully returned to their bodies and every second brought their guardian and his mysterious companion closer—it would be best if his return remained a secret.For now.

A black hole appeared in the ground beneath Damon and the woman.He didn't like leaving things half done, but there was no help for it.They vanished silently.

**************

Gennai burst into the clearing with an air of panic, vaguely aware that his ethereal companion had soundlessly pursued him.Osamu appeared hovering lightly over Ken, a dark frown on his face.The traveler knelt and began to check on the children and their digimon.He idly wondered if the spirit had actually "followed" him, or had merely allowed himself to materialize over his brother . . . questions for later. 

"What was that thing?" Osamu demanded.

Gennai shrugged and frowned down at Davis.Something was very wrong with the Child of Courage."I don't know.Whatever it was, it's gone now."It was almost like the boy's mind and body were . . . disconnected.

That explanation was not good enough for the first Ichijouji genius."It's evil.How could you let this happen?I thought that you said nothing that powerful could get through your fire wall."

Gennai shrugged again.He needed to concentrate on Davis now.Demiveemon was awake now and had his little flippers pushing against Davis's cheek.The in-training grunted."Wake up!Davis, get up!"Ruby red eyes turned to Gennai."What's wrong with him?"

Gennai reached out a gentle hand and rubbed the digimon's head."Don't worry.He'll be okay."

"Well?" Osamu demanded sharply.Next to him, Wormmon was awake and trying to rouse his brother.

The man lifted Demiveemon away from Davis so that he could get a closer look at the boy."It couldn't.There's no way that it was that powerful when it slipped through the shield."

"Oh, what?So it just digivolved when it got here?"

The spiteful tone made Gennai look up, irritated by Osamu's single-mindedness."Not now, Ichijouji!"

Yolei stirred at Gennai's shout._Ichijouji?_"Ken?"She groaned and put a hand up to her head.

"Yolei?" Gennai rose and went to the girl's side."Yolei?It's me, Gennai."

The girl's eyes opened and slowly focused on him.Then she snapped upright, sending Poromon tumbling to the ground.

_Crack!_

Gennai's head snapped back and a harsh burning sensation streaked its way across his cheek.

Tears shined in the Child of Love and Sincerity's eyes."What the _hell_ kind of test was that?!"

Gennai looked at her in shock, mouth open and one hand raised to his cheek."I . . . I'm sorry, Yolei."

"Sorry?"The girl was on her feet and clutching Poromon to her the way a bereft child clings to its blanket.She was shaking violently."And what is that supposed to mean to me?"

A restraining hand gently placed itself on her shoulder."Yolei," Kari whispered softly."Don't."

The wine-haired girl hesitated for an instant, looking as though she might hurl herself at Gennai despite the other child's hand.Then, with infinite slowness, Yolei turned around and went to stand a bit away from them, her back turned.She dropped into a crouch and began to cry softly.Poromon fluttered anxiously around her, desperately trying to comfort her without knowing how.

Gennai turned to watch Kari.Tears stood ready and waiting in her red-brown eyes as well, but they never fell.He looked up at her, the grief in her eyes making him feel inconceivably small."Kari . . . I—I'm so sorry."

The Child of Light only shook her head, her entire demeanor that of innocence betrayed."It wasn't right, Gennai.It was a cruel test."She turned away to go help the others.Gatomon glared at him coldly before going after her partner.

The traveler followed her with his eyes and saw her pause in front of Ken.She nodded and the guardian was shocked to see Osamu smile and nod back curtly and Kari then walk on._That was . . . interesting._

Cody looked small and lost as he stood over Davis._Oh shit, Davis!_The traveler pushed himself clumsily to his feet.

Demiveemon was crying."What's wrong with him?" Armadillomon drawled in concern.

Cody's green eyes shone as he looked up at Gennai."The lights are on, . . . but nobody's there."

"It's his soul.It did not rejoin his body properly."Gennai knelt to Davis and placed a hand on the child's forehead.

Ken's voice floated up from behind him, thick with sleep."What do you mean?What's happened?"

Gennai turned and his eyes locked onto Osamu's in a silent plea.The specter was standing protectively behind his brother unseen by the others.He nodded and moved towards the Child of Courage.

The traveler's hazel eyes shifted back to Ken.Wormmon was perched on his partner's shoulder and regarding the scene with sad eyes."Something happened.A dark presence was here during the testing and the Guardians called it to a stop."It was an effort not to watch Osamu as he settled down on top of Davis's body, their forms slowly merging into one.Kari and Ken now both appeared to be oblivious to his brother's presence.

"A dark presence?"TK adjusted his hat rather unnecessarily."What do you mean?"

Gennai frowned."We—I don't know what it was, but the Guardians thought that it would be best to stop the testing. You were all very vulnerable.Unfortunately, Davis was in the midst of his test, and his mind was torn from where it was and shoved back into his body.Proper precautions were not taken to restore him."

Kari can and knelt by Davis's side.He looked like he was asleep except for the fact that his eyes were open.The brown orbs, normally vibrant and sparkling, were slightly glazed over and vacant.The girl took his hand and shivered—he felt like ice."Will he be alright?" she asked in a small voice.

Gennai tried to avoid her gaze.What could he say?"Someone is helping him find his way back now."

"Who?"

Hazel eyes looked at red-brown eyes knowingly."A friend.He'll bring Davis back."

The girl seemed a bit startled, but she accepted his words.

"Well, what about us?" Cody asked.

"Yeah," TK broke in."We were never tested.We weren't Blessed."

"Count yourselves lucky."Yolei had joined the small crowd.Her face was red and streaked with tears.The newly digivolved Hawkmon was at her side; he didn't seem to be faring much better.

"But don't we need those?" protested TK.

Gennai frowned and returned his attention to Davis."I don't know."

A small noise made everyone start and turn to Ken.The indigo-haired Child of Kindness was snickering."Classic.Just classic.I really should have seen this one coming.You know, for a minute I _almost_ thought that you had things under control."

Gennai glared at the slender boy for a long moment.Ken was totally unfazed.He smirked.

"I _really _don't need this now, Kenny-boy."

The nickname made Ken scowl darkly. He opened his mouth to retort, but Kari stepped into his line of sight."Stop it!"She turned to Gennai."Both of you.This isn't getting us anywhere."

Gennai stood and brushed off his robes."Agreed."

Cody shook his head."But what do we do now?"

Gennai bent down and lifted Davis in his arms."There is another way.In fact, we can kill three birds with one stone."

TK picked Demiveemon up."What do you mean?"

Gennai turned to look at Ken."We need a place to rest , transportation, and we also need to pick up something."

Ken's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"What are you talking about, Gennai?"Yolei stepped towards the robed guardian and waved an accusing finger."You told us that we had to be tested and receive this Blessing thing.You _told_ us that we need it!"

Gennai flushed."I know, Yolei, but it has just come to my attention that there is another alternative."

"Another alternative?"Yolei tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes.Cody took one look at her face and began to back away from her._"Another . . . alternative . . . ?"_

TK looked at Yolei, then at Kari, then at Gennai, then back to Yolei.The Child of Love and Sincerity looked about a hair's breadth from a total emotional tsunami and Kari was close to tears._Just what the hell happened to them?_Suddenly the Child of Hope was very happy that he wasn't Blessed.He stepped forward to take charge, keenly aware of the loss of Davis."What's your plan, Gennai?"

"We need to go somewhere and lick our wounds and we also need to go pick something up; plus a bit of transportation would be nice.I say we do it all at the same time."He turned back to Ken and dipped his head deferentially."With your permission, of course."

An indigo eyebrow lifted in mocking amusement."Why should you need _my_ permission?" 

Gennai shifted Davis's weight slightly in his arms."Because we can't do this without your help."

The boy frowned darkly, suspicion clouding his china-doll face."Why?Where do you need to go?"

"We need to go to the base of the Digimon Emperor."

** **

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	26. Faith and Treachery

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain**

****

**__________________________________________________________**

**Vain**: Where is he, Ken?

**Ken**: Don't sue Vain-chan.  She's poor.

**Vain**: WHERE IS THE KAISER?!

*Osamu walks in munching an oatmeal cookie with Wormmon on his shoulder.*

**Osamu**: Hey.  Athena says hi. 

**Ken**: Welcome back, Oniichan.  Where have you been?

**Osamu**: *waves the cookie* Athena's pantry.

**Vain**: *sobbing*  Where's the Kaiser?!

**Osamu**: What's with her?

**Ken**: I have no idea.  Read and Review, please!****

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**_~"Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away,_**

**_ and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  _**

**_For many are called, but few are chosen."_****__**

**-Matthew 22: 13 & 14**

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

Part Twenty-Five 

**Faith and Treachery**

**What happened?**

**Who is responsible for this?**

**Enough!  Courage—**

**QUIET!**

**. . .**

**. . .**

**. . .**

**We knew that this could happen.  We knew that there could be complications.**

**Gennai betrayed us!**

**Do you blame him?!  I stood against this enterprise from the beginning and yet the three of you persisted in this foolishness!**

**Oh, that is easy for you to say!  Your Spheres of Light and Hope are safe!**

**Indeed.  What has become of my Spheres of Courage and Friendship?  Where is my Child's soul?**

**Do not cry to me about your loss.  Davis Motomiya would be fine if you had not insisted on pursuing the testing.**

**Order!  We must have order!**

**These are the Dark One's manipulations.**

**Enough drivel!  What are we to do?**

**Calm yourself, old friend.  My Child of Light suffered your tests, too.  I understand your concern—**

**Spare me!  Yagami is still alive—**

**As is Courage and Friendship.**

**How would you—**

**Have you felt the Spheres presences die?**

**. . . No.  But they are no longer in our realm.**

**Then perhaps they are beyond our grasp.**

**But the Spheres must not be allowed to leave the Digital World!**

**And the Tests!  What of the Tests?**

**You and your Tests!  I've had enough of them!  I refuse to submit my Child of Hope to such a thing.**

**But you agreed . . .! This unheard of!  **

**This is useless.  Stop this bickering.  Is the Child's body there?**

**Hold on . . . Yes, it is.**

**Then bar the Child's spirit from his body and test him in the Digital World.**

**There may arise no opportunity to test him.**

**There are always opportunities to test a human's mettle.  This is the nature of humanity.**

**You disgust me.**

**No one asked you.  What are we to do with Gennai?**

**I somehow doubt that he'll answer a summons.**

**Can't you say anything useful?  He is our servant.  He must be taught to do his duty!**

**He has done his duty!**

**Still championing the human's cause?**

**He was not trained to serve us!  He was trained to do his duty and that duty is to protect the Digidestined.  He is doing the job of four Chosen Guardians, not one.**

**And yet we should allow him to get away with this?**

**No, but the other is right.  Gennai was not trained to be our servant.**

**No, he was trained by that traitor—**

**DO NOT SPEAK THAT NAME!!  Do you want to call _His_ attention to us now in our disorientation?**

** . . . I apologize.**

**What is to be done with the traveler, though?  If this has occurred, our conditioning was not as effective as we believed.  He could turn on us like his Master.**

**Is his replacement ready yet?  He's been training since before we lost Ichijouji to the Darkness.**

**. . . Which is the reason we lost Ichijouji to the Darkness.**

**Hush.  We all understood the dangers.  Do not worry over the traveler—there is always another.  Should he defect as his master did, the young one will take care of him.**

**But he has the Children.**

**He will harm neither them nor the Digital World; it is only our safety we must now be concerned with.  **

**Does this too upset your weak stomach, old friend?**

**Do not sneer.  I sensed something.  I tried to warn you.  There was a great force at work.**

**Plea—**

**Stop it!  What did you mean, "a great force?"**

**. . . The balance of Powers has shifted.**

**************

_Davis?_

Huh?

_Daa-viis._

Who are you?

_A friend of a friend._

Thanks, that's helpful.

_Don't be snide, Motomiya—It doesn't suit you._

Where are you?  Hell, where am **I**?

_Here._

Right . . . Anybody ever tell you that you're a real ass?

_Yes.  Being dead kind of affects your outlook on life.  _

DEAD?!  I'm . . . I'm dead?!  I **can't** be dead!

_Umm, Davis?_

Nonononono!  I don't want to be dead!

_Davis._

There's so much I want to do yet!

_Da—_

I haven't beat TM at bloody knuckles.

_Davis?_

I never beat Ken at soccer!

_Davis . . .?_

I haven't kissed Kari yet!

_Davis!_

I never got to see Veemon's Ultimate form!

**_DAVIS!!!!!!_**

Yeah?

_Shut up.  You're not _dead_, simpleton: you're in limbo._

Where's limbo?  Is that like in America?

_Close.  The traffic's better here._

What?

_Never mind.  Limbo is an area between dimensions._

Huh?

*Sigh*  _Have you ever been to the beach?_

Well, yeah.

_Okay, picture this: dimensions are like . . . the sand._

What?

_Just pay attention!  You know how right after the tide washes out and the sand is still wet, if you push your finger into the sand, the hole fills up with water before the sand falls back in?_

Uh, yeah.

_Good.  Now, every dimension is a single grain of sand and all the sand is bathed in water.  The water represents limbo._

Oh . . . Okay.

_Limbo holds the dimensions in their proper places.  Without limbo, separate dimensions could not co-exist and time and space could not maintain their concurrent flow._

So you mean everything would just dry out?

_Uh . . . Okay, I guess that's one way of looking at it.  Do you understand now?_

No. 

_. . . Come; we have to go._

Where?

_You have to return to your body._

My body?  I thought you said that I wasn't dead?!

_You're not!  No physical being can exist in limbo._

How come?

_. . . I can see why he was so anxious to destroy you now._

What did you say?

_I didn't say anything.  Let's go._

But I know you said something.

_Drop it._

But—

_I said 'drop it!'_

You know, you remind me of this guy name Ken Ichijouji.  You ever meet him?

_I swear I'm gonna make you pay for this, traveler . . ._

**************

Ken blinked once, trying to process what he had just heard.  He blinked again.  _He did not just say that . . . Did he?_  On his shoulder, Wormmon trembled.  "You want to what now?"

Gennai didn't seem to think that there was anything unusual in his request.  "We need to go to your base."

"No!" Wormmon's little green carapace quivered with repressed emotion.  "No," he repeated with a shake of his head.  "You don't know what you're asking.  Pick somewhere else, anywhere else in the Digital World, and we'll take you there.  But not _there_.  You don't know."  

The Digidestined stared at the normally timid digimon in shock and Ken gently reached up and lifted his partner from his shoulder.  The virus type twisted out of his grasp and landed on the ground in front of his human.  The little magenta pincers on his tail worked menacingly, something that Ken only witnessed when his digimon was truly reaching the limits of his boundless temper.

Gennai frowned down at the righteous outrage he found himself facing.  He had expected resistance from Ken—not Wormmon.  "I understand that that is the last place on any world that—"

"You do _not_ understand!  Don't you dare say that you understand!  _I lost him there!_  How could you understand that?!"

Something inside Ken felt like it was breaking . . . again—something old and previously damaged, now broken anew.  He found his knees collapsing and his arms reaching out to gently gather his partner in his arms.  His lips formed the only words that they could ever find where Wormmon was concerned.  "I'm sorry.  I'm sorry.  I'm sorry.  I'm sorry."

The broken Child of Kindness knelt and cradled his angry digimon close to his chest as indigo hair tumbled over his bruised face to mask his expression.  His words were a gentle whisper so soft that it was lost in the wind.  Takeru bit his lip and wanted desperately to look away, images of their final confrontation dancing just behind his eyes in a macabre parade of shame.  He hated that day passionately.  He should have been proud—the brave knight triumphant over evil . . . instead he felt nauseous as he remembered the image of the shattered Emperor staggering away, lean frame rocked nearly to pieces by sobs.  TK didn't want those memories—he didn't want that last image of Ken to haunt his dreams.  But nobody always gets what they want. 

Gennai bit the inside of his cheek in contemplation and then tilted his head to the side.  He carefully shifted Davis's weight in his arms before he spoke again.  "I know what you want, Ken."

The former dictator's head snapped up, eyes darkening to a bruised purple color.  "You don't know me, traveler."

"I know what you're looking for . . . what you've lost."

"I'm happy for you."

The two of them glared at one another for a moment, Ken kneeling on the ground and clutching Wormmon to him while Gennai stood and held Davis's limp body as easily as if he was air.  Gennai shrugged minutely.  "I have what you need."

The purple eyes lightened slightly to a hard deep blue.  "What do you know about me, old man?  Why tell me now?"

"Because you are fighting your destiny.  You always have been!  And, quite frankly, it goes against your true nature.  If you want the answers to your questions, you are just going to have to trust me, Child of Kindness."

Ken stood and sneered.  "Trust you?  It's trusting you that brought me to this place."

The traveler was unfazed.  "Perhaps.  But if it hadn't been me, it would have been somebody else.  If you won't help me, at least help yourself."  Gennai raised his arms slightly.  "At least help him."

The dark haired boy turned away and lowered his head so that his hair hid his features.  Davis . . .

_"That's goggle-man, 'Rocket.' And what do you think?  Aren't you supposed to be a genius or something like that?"  . . .  "Well, yeah, dude!  We're friends now, and that's what friends do for each other.  I'd love to spend some time with Minniemon- that is, if it's all right with him."  . . .  "Ken, come back!"  . . .  "You're a Digidestined, too.  One big happy family."  . . .  "I know you're sorry for what you've done."  . . .  "Welcome to the team, Ken!"  . . .   "Surrender, Digidestined?"  . . .  "C'mon, man; you owe me!"_

Ken closed his eyes and bit his lip until it bled.  _I don't understand this.  Why should I care?  Why should his kindness matter to me?  Why do I suddenly have to feel this way?  Why do I have to feel at all?_  There was nothing more that the former tyrant wanted at that point in time than to vanish within himself—to slide back into that cold emotionless place where ambition was all that matter and power was the sum and total of his character.  But that place was lost to him now; maybe (hopefully?) forever.  He was breaking.

A whisper.  "Ken-chan?"

He opened his eyes and looked down into his partner's.  Sometimes those timorous eyes were so large that Ken thought he could drown in them.  As the Digimon Emperor, he hated that—he couldn't stand the force of those painfully blue eyes.  As Ken Ichijouji, they were sometimes the only thing that kept him sane.  "Yeah, Wormmon?"

The liquid eyes were on the verge of tears.  "We're going back, aren't we?"

"You don't have to come.  Please.  If you don't want to, just stay behind."

The blue eyes closed and Wormmon pressed himself hard against his boy's chest.  He listened to Ken's heart for a moment.  "No.  We're partners.  Where you go, I go."

The child nodded.  "You won't lose me this time, you know.  I'm not going anywhere."

Wormmon was silent.

"Wormmon?"  Ken's voice hadn't sounded so small since his partner died in his arms.

"I know, Ken-chan."

Ken closed his eyes and forced the mask back onto his face.  For the first time that day his thoughts slid to his brother and he winced internally.  No, best to bury that for now.  He couldn't deal with Sam on top of everything else . . . especially not today.  Emotions properly reigned in and "Camera Face" back where it belonged, the young genius turned and pasted on a hard smirk.  He tried—rather unsuccessfully—to contain the fire in his eyes and not glare thunder at Gennai and "his fellow Digidestined."  

"You owe me, traveler.  You owe me big time."

It took all of Gennai's self-control not to sigh in relief.  "Lead on, Digidestined."

**************

_Davis?  Davis?_

Yeah?

_We're almost there._

How can you tell?  No, never mind.  I probably wouldn't understand.

_Probably not._

. . . So . . . .  What's it like being dead?

_Has anybody ever told you that you have got to be the most irritating individual ever born?_

Geez, man!  I'm just trying to make conversation.  It's not like you're real good company or anything.

_. . ._

I wonder how the others are doing.  I wonder if they miss me.

_. . . Of course they miss you.  I mean they _are_ your friends._

So what were you like when you were alive?

*sigh*  _Why are you so curious about me?_

O gee, I dunno.  I can't see you.  I can't even really hear you.  And you want me to follow you when I don't even think I'm moving.  Hell, I don't even know if _I'm_ real in this freaky place, let alone whether you're real.  But it's okay for me to just do whatever you say, right?  I may be dumb, but I am not stupid!

_I—I'm sorry, Motomiya.  I don't really think about others sometimes.  I guess I'm just anxious to get back._

Why?

_Because I have something that I need to do.  I'm responsible for something and it really shouldn't be left alone for long periods of time._

Sorry.  I don't mean to keep you.

_This isn't your fault, you know._

I guess.  So just what did happen to me? 

_The Guardians were testing you and called it to a halt right in the middle of your trial.  As a result, they didn't properly secure your soul and it floated into limbo._

Like a balloon?

_Yeah, actually.  You know, you're not as simple-minded as people say you are._

Umm . . . thanks.  I think.  You never did answer my question.

_Which one?_

What were you like when you were alive?

_I . . . I guess you could say that I was a real asshole._

What?

_I . . . Hurt someone—someone I love very much—very, very badly.  He never really recovered and I . . . Well, let's just say that I really screwed up and leave it at that._

I'm sure he'll forgive you.

_Huh?  What do you mean?_

Well, he is your friend, so I'm sure you'll be forgiven if you just ask.

_No, that's not it.  I know he's forgiven me; he'd forgive me of anything.  I just . . . I don't know.  It's complicated._

Is it really that complicated or are you just making it that way?  
  


_What's that supposed to mean?_

You remind me of this kid I know: Ken Ichijouji.  You ever meet him?  Oh, well, I guess you haven't since you're dead and all.  Well, he's this famous genius kid from Tamachi and he does that too.  He makes things a lot harder than they have to be.  He's real tense, you know—uptight.  He acts like . . . I don't know—like things are a lot harder than they really are.  I think he thinks it helps explain the bad things.

_Go on._

Well, it seems like a whole bunch of bad things have happened to him in his life and he takes it all personally.  He doesn't really get that bad things just happen so he makes it all into this huge deal.  Like if his pain is just all this random stuff it's unjustified or something.  He tries to make it mean something even when it doesn't.  He puts all that weight on his shoulders and acts like it's happening to him just because he's him.  Personally, I think that that's why he went nuts a little while back.  It's too much.  Nobody can carry all that damage around by their self, no matter who they are.  'Course, that's just what I think.

_You know what, Davis?_

Let me guess, I've got everything all wrong.

_You are a wiser man than I, Davis Motomiya._

. . . Thanks. 

**************

They flew—Ken insisted—and for a moment Kari pretended that they weren't doing what they were doing or going where they were going, but that it just her and Nefertimon having fun. Demiveemon shifted in her lap and the illusion was shattered.

"Kari?" the little blue creature asked.

She looked down into the teary ruby eyes and bit her lower lip.  "Yes, Demiveemon?"

"Will Davish be okay?"  He pressed his little flippers against her arm and she could feel the heat from his body.  "I know what Gennai said, but he'll really be alright, right?"

The Child of Light smiled at him and remembered the exchange between Gennai and Osamu.  "Trust me.  He's in the absolute best of hands."

 "But how do you know?"

Kari sighed.  "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then have a little bit of faith, Demiveemon."

The little in-training pouted and looked away, unconvinced.

From his perch on Stingmon's shoulder Ken surveyed the landscape as it peeled away beneath him.  Davis was cradled carefully in the Champion's sure hands and Gennai was flying beside him on an Metal Airdramon he had summoned along with Armadillomon.  Yolei straddled Halsemon's back and Cody rode with TK on Pegasusmon.  All things considered, they were making excellent time.

Stingmon shifted slightly in midair and dipped down slightly.  "We may need to land soon.  We're on the borders of the desert now."

"Sandstorms."  The Child of Kindness nodded and tightened his grip on the Champion's steel shoulder spike.  "You're right.  We should land soon and walk the rest of the way."  He turned around, the wind tearing through his hair, and called out to the others.  "We need to land now!"

Cody's brow darkened and he yelled over the wind.  "How come?"

"Sandstorms!"  An ivory hand made a slicing gesture towards the ground.  "Down, now!"

Stingmon pulled up sharply and dropped down, settling obediently on the ground.  The other digimon followed.

Halsemon glared at Ken as the former despot leapt the nine feet from his digimon's shoulder to land on the ground with a small thump.  "Why have we stopped?" the armored digimon demanded.

Stingmon gently settled Davis on the ground next to his human.  "Sandstorms," the huge insect rumbled.  He looked off in the distance.  "Ken-chan and I know this area well.  We have traveled through here a great many times.  A sandstorm can come over you in mere moments and it is not wise to be airborne when one hits."

"He's right," agreed Nefertimon as Kari and Demiveemon dismounted.  "I traveled here with Wizardmon during my time with Myotismon.  We once got caught in a sandstorm that lasted for days.  We lost an entire air battalion."  She chuckled darkly.  "Myotismon was furious." 

Pegasusmon pawed at the ground.  "Well then, in that case, we should get moving."

Gennai hopped off his Metal Airdramon and walked over to Davis.  "Then let's go."

The Airdramon pulled up and then hesitated a moment, glaring down at Ken with white eyes.  Ken looked back, unafraid.  "Yes?"

The digimon rumbled, a parody of a laugh.  "Same old Ken.  The Brood Mother says hello."

The once-Emperor lifted an eyebrow.  "I didn't know that you were of that clan."

The creature twisted to show off its form.  "I recently digivolved.  I was the one you called Duo."

A genuine smile slid over Ken's face.  "It's been too long.  Tell the Mother I sent my regards."

"Always.  And if you ever need a favor . . ."

"Thanks, Duo."

Waving a fin in departure, the Metal Airdramon rose and circled in a goodbye.  "Take care of that human of yours, Stingmon!  They just don't make 'em like that anymore."

The Champion watched him go.  "Ultimate works well for him."

Ken nodded and placed a gentle hand on the digimon's leg.  His eyes followed the dramon type until it vanished.  "That it does, my friend."  He shook himself slightly and turned to the others who were all eyeing him with wary curiosity.  Gennai merely looked slightly amused.  It occurred to Ken that the traveler had known about Duo when he summoned him, but the boy brushed the thought aside.  Whatever his intentions, what was done was done.  "Your partners should dedigivolved and save their strength." 

 Takeru lifted an eyebrow as Stingmon lifted Davis out of Gennai's arms.  "What about Stingmon?"

"I'm going to need his help at the base.  Besides," the pale boy shrugged, "it's best to have visible protection around here.  Most things will think twice before picking a fight with a stingmon.  C'mon.  We have a long way to go."

**************

Are we there yet?

_No._

. . .

_. . ._

. . .

_. . ._

Are we there yet?

_No!_

. . .

_. . ._

Are we there yet?

_Yes._

Are we there—oh!  Where are we?

_Above the Server Desert._

I don't see anything.

_Then open your eyes._

'Huh?' Davis opened his eyes.  'Wow!  That's cool!'

_I suppose.  Twit._

The ghost of Davis Motomiya grinned and looked around curiously for the source of the dry voice.  'Where are you?'

_Here._

'Where?'  He looked around.  'I don't see you.'

_You're not supposed to see me._

'Oh. This is fun!  It's like flying!'

_We _are_ flying.  Do you sense your body yet?_

Davis watched in fascination as the ground sped past at fantastic rate of speed.  It was all a blur of tawny sand.  He stretched his arms out in front of him and watched in amazement as he could see the ground speeding past through his translucent jacket-clad arms.  'This is just too cool.'  He spun around to lie on his back and watch the sky whirl past.

_Davis?  I said, 'Can you sense your body?'_

'Umm . . . I don't know.  How do I do that?'

_You should feel a pulling in a certain direction._

'I don't feel anything like that.'

_Nothing at all?_

'Nope.  How do you know where we're going anyway?'

_. . ._

'Well?'

_You're not going to let this go if I don't answer you, are you?_

'Nope.' 

_If you really must know, I'm . . . tracking somebody in the group._

'Really?  Who?'

_You're a very nosey little boy, Motomiya._

'I'm not little!  Hey, look!  I think I see Stingmon!'  The spirit dove down towards a small group of dots.  The dots slowly grew larger until they took the forms of humans and digimon.  'I see Kari and TG and Cody and—hey!  Stingmon's got my body!  Dude!  Is that what I look like when I'm asleep?'

_Yes.  Now go rejoin your body._

'Aw c'mon!  This is fun.  Poor Cody.  Ken and Gennai are talking, and Kari's talking with HK, but Cody only has Stingmon and Yolei to talk to—and Yolei is not looking too friendly.  I wonder what they're all talking about.'

He swooped down a bit lower, oblivious to his mysterious guide's protests.

Ken was looking straight forward as he spoke to Gennai.  "Don't think that this little arrangement changes anything, old man."

The traveler frowned.  "Please don't hate me, Ken.  What I did—I did the best I could."

"Well it wasn't good enough."

The two were silent for a moment before Ken spoke again.  "Is he dead?"

"Who?  Ryou?"

". . . Yeah.  Ryou.  Is he dead?"

Gennai turned pain-filled eyes to his companion.  "I'm sorry, Ken.  I'm not at liberty to say."

Ken looked back up at him with quiet rage burning in his eyes.  "Damn you to the depths of hell, old man."  He looked forward again.  "Damn you."

Davis pulled up, shying away from that rage.  'Geez, what is with those two?  They're like oil and . . . that thing that oil really doesn't like.'

_Water?_

'Yeah.'  Davis paused as something occurred to him.  'They can't see or hear us, can they?'

_. . . They won't._

'Won't?'

_Three of them have the gift, but I doubt that they'll see you._

'Why not?'

_Well, there are two reasons.  One is that one of the ones with gift refuses to acknowledge it, and the others are not attuned to living souls._

'Living souls?'

_Your soul is alive.  It hasn't made the transition to the other side yet._

'Oh.  Let's go listen to Cody and Stingmon!'

*sigh*  _You really should go join your body, Davis.  I don't understand why it hasn't pulled you in already.  It's not natural for a body to willingly let its soul run loose._

'I'm telling you, man, I don't feel any pull.'

_Eavesdropping is rude anyway._

'You don't have to come.'

_. . ._

'That's what I thought.  Now, c'mon, killjoy.'

Cody was walking next to Stingmon with his head down.  The small boy looked up at Yolei with a frown.  "Are you okay, Yolei?"

The wine-haired girl stared straight ahead, her eyes brightened by unshed tears.  On her shoulder, Hawkmon turned to watch her with poorly concealed worry.  Her voice was flat and cold.  "No, Cody."

Green eyes crinkled in concern.  "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

The boy sighed and Stingmon looked down.  "Are you alright, Cody?'

"Yeah.  I guess I'm just tired."

Suddenly Cody yelped as an immense green hand reached down and lifted him up.

"Cody!"  Armadillomon's mouth dropped open as his partner was scooped up.  Yolei stopped dead in her tracks and stared, her own concerns forgotten.

Ken whirled around and watched as Stingmon carefully balanced Davis's body on one arm and lifted the Child of Knowledge and Responsibility up onto his shoulder with the other.  The tall Champion shifted the unconscious Child back to his other hand, looked down at his human apologetically and then looked over at Armadillomon.  "Sorry, Ken.  You don't mind if Cody borrows your spot, do you?  He was tired."  

Ken gave him a solemn nod before turning back to his odd game of avoidance with the traveler.  "Carry on."

Stingmon looked down at Armadillomon.  "You don't mind if I steal your partner, do you?"

"Of course not," he drawled as he waved a golden-yellow paw.

Cody blushed.  "I really don't need a ride, Stingmon.  I'm just fine."

"I don't mind, Cody."

"No, really," the boy insisted with a shake of his head, "I can walk just like the others.  I don't need any special treatment."

"This isn't special treatment," the virus explained.  "I'd do this for anyone who needed it."

"But—"

"Do you remember what Ken said about messing with a stingmon, Cody?

"Yeah . . ."

"Good."

After admiring his own physical body for a moment, Davis hovered lightly next to the Champion's shoulder as they walked on in silence.  For a minute it seemed as thought the shade was doomed to boredom, but then Cody spoke again.  Davis perked up.

"Hey, Stingmon?"

"Yes, Cody?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

The digimon's body rumbled with his amusement.  "You just did."

"Okay," the boy yielded with another blush.  "Can I ask another one?  I mean, after this one."

"Ask away."

"You've known Ken for a really long time, right?"

"Of course.  Ever since he was a small child—even younger than you are now.  Why?"

The boy pulled his knees up to his chest, placed on elbow on them, and supported his chin with the same hand.  His other hand rested loosely on one of Stingmon's spikes.  "You really care deeply for him, don't you?"

This question seemed to confuse the large green insect.  He shifted slightly and his antennae shivered as he shook his head a bit.  "Of course I do.  He is my Ken-chan."  He gave his explanation as though those words should have made everything right with the world.

Cody wasn't convinced.  "But why?  I mean, he was so evil and he treated you so terribly . . . yet you'll still march to the ends of the earth for him.  How can you ever trust him again?"

Stingmon looked down thoughtfully and he gave the impression that he was frowning.  For a moment he was absolutely silent, red eyes locked on his partner's back.  Ken and Gennai were still talking quietly and avoiding each other's eyes.  Stingmon looked at his rider.  "He's my Ken-chan."  He shrugged, startling Cody so that the boy quickly grasped at the spikes.  "I know that that's not what you want to hear, but . . ." He sighed.  "Trust me, Cody.  I know what's in Ken's heart and soul—even if his head is always getting in the way.  He's an incredible person—a good person—it's just taking him a little while to figure it out."

"But how do you know that he'll ever 'figure it out?' "

"Did you know that the Crest of Reliability is actually the Crest of Faith?"

Emerald eyes blink in surprise.  "No, actually I didn't."

"He's a genius, Cody.  He's good at figuring things out.  Plus, I have faith in him.  Yes, it's hard sometimes, but Ken has lost a lot of things; he's had to fight for most everything alone.  I'm not going to let him be alone anymore.  A big part of Faith is unconditional confidence in something.  Ken is my something."

Cody was quiet.  When he looked up his eyes were clouded by uncertainty.  "But how do you know?"

"I don't, Cody, and that's why it matters."

Cody, closed his eyes, shook his head, and sighed.

Davis pulled away from them.  'Cody thinks way too much.'

There was no response and Davis frowned.  'You still there?  Hey, guide person?'

_Yeah, I'm here._

'You okay?'

Silence once more.

'Hey,' Davis yelled, waving his translucent arms.  'I said: Are you okay?!'

_Yeah . . . I'm fine.  Are you done yet?  You should—_

'Return to my body—I know.  You're turning into a broken record.  Let's see what Kari and TL are talking about.'

_Davis!_

'Hush!  I'm trying to hear this!'

Kari shook her head and her hair fell into her eyes.  "I'm telling you, TK, there is no way that Maseba is going to make the basketball team."

The blond laughed and shook his head, earning a yelp from Patamon who rested on top of his hat.  "You're just mad because his sister didn't want you to be the captain of the cheerleading squad!"

"I am not!" 

An eyebrow raised in skepticism.

"Alright, alright," the Child of Light conceded with a blush, "Maybe I was just a little annoyed.  But she had no right to go spreading those rumors about me!"

This sent her friend into howls of laughter and she glared at him in mock anger.  "Laugh it up, Takaishi," she warned with a shake of one delicate finger.  "Revenge will be mine."

Gatomon cast a look back at her human and the red-faced TK and sighed.  "You two act just like a pair of kittens sometimes."

Floating unseen above their heads, Davis made a rather horrible-looking face at TK and shifted so that he flew above Kari.

Eventually TK calmed down and the two walked in a comfortable silence.  Davis pouted.

_Satisfied?  We should go now._

Davis shot a stern glare in the general vicinity of where he assumed his guide was.  'No.  And I want to hear this.'

_Hear what?  They're not even talking._

'They will be.'

"Something's wrong, isn't it TK?"

'See!' Davis exclaimed, shooting a triumphant look at the same patch of empty air.

_Davis, you really shouldn't—_

"It's Davis," TK said to Kari.  "And you and . . . me."

Davis leaned in closer.

_Now I know we shouldn't—_

'Shut-up!  This is important.'  The Davis's spectral brow furrowed in concentration.

Kari cast TK an uncertain look as Patamon left his partner's head to walk next to Gatomon.  "What do you mean?" she asked, slightly fearful of the answer.  Unbidden, she remember her Test and repressed a shiver.  She wrapped slender arms around her body in a tight hug.  

The Child of Hope frowned at the ground.  "This game that you've been playing—granted, I went along with it at first, so I'm guilty as you—but now it's got to stop."

"TK—"

"No."  He raised his hands to cut her off.  "Let me finish.  We're just friends, Kari; we agreed on that a long time ago.  But if your not interested in Davis, you have to tell him so.  You can't keep bouncing us off each other like super balls because, to be perfectly honest, it's just plain cruel.  It's not fair to any of us and if you don't tell him the truth, then I will."

The Eighth Child dropped her head and bit her lower lip guiltily.  "I'm sorry.  It's just . . . I don't want to hurt him, Takeru."

"Then tell him the truth."  The tall boy's hand swept hers up and lightly brushed it across his lips.  He smiled at her when she looked up at him in surprise.  "Hey, I'm not mad at you—well, not really—and I'm always going to be here for you, so don't sweat it.  Things are going to be okay."

The girl smiled up at her best friend gratefully.  "Thanks TK."  She blushed and looked down again.  "But how am I supposed to tell Davis that I'd never date him in a million years?"

A short bark of laughter emerged from TK.  "Hopefully gentler than that."

"Hope is your area, TK."

Davis pulled up sharply.  He had heard more than enough.  If ghosts could have hearts, his had just been trod upon by Kari's cheerleading sneakers and shattered into a billion tiny pieces.  It was one thing to think that you didn't have a chance in hell with the love of your life, it quite another thing to hear her say it.  And laugh about it.  And tell that asshole TR about it.  And have him laugh about it.

_Davis?_

'Go away.'

_I told you not to eavesdrop._

'Go.  Away.  Now.'

_Davis—_

'I SAID GO AWAY!!'

_But you need to rejoin your body!!_

'No I don't!  I'm never going back!'

_But—Damnit!  Davis, come back!  DAVIS!_

Gennai stopped suddenly and turned around.

Beside him, Ken also halted and looked up at him curiously.  "What is it?"  The boy turned around and the others mimicked the motion.  "What's wrong?"

Gennai ignored him, looking instead at the slowly emerging shade of Osamu Ichijouji which was standing a little bit behind a bewildered looking Kari and TK.  

"What's going on?" Kari asked nervously, unaware of the spirit behind her or what had just occurred.

Osamu looked Gennai in the eye.  "We have got a serious problem here, traveler."

Gennai sighed and looked down at Ken.  "It's nothing.  Let's continue."

Osamu and Ken both lifted a single eyebrow and the younger Ichijouji shrugged and turned, taking the lead again.  Osamu smirked and began to vanish again.  "I'll go get him.  You owe me so big—"

The traveler turned back around and moved to catch up with their guide.

"What was that all about?" the child genius demanded after a moment.

"It was nothing," replied Gennai, looking straight ahead.  "Just the wind, Ken."

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	27. Less Than the Image, But More Than the L...

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain**

****

**__________________________________________________________**

**Osamu**: *looks at the hysterical Vain*  Are you going to tell her?

**Ken**: No.  I think I rather enjoy seeing her squirm.

**Remy**: You're twisted, cher.  I t'ink I like dat.

**Wormmon**: She's in quite a state, you know . . . 

**Sinister**:  . . .Vain owns nothing.  Read and Review.

**Osamu**: Alright, but I'm telling you, it is NOT healthy for her to be turning that shade of blue . . .

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**_~ "No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment;_**

**_ for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse."_****__**

**-Matthew 9: 16******

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**Part Twenty-Six**

**Less Than the Image, But More Than the Lie******

Far down the sand covered slope, the base rose impressively out of a tawny colored sea—the torn and gutted skeleton of a once mighty beast laid low.  Ken shielded his slanted eyes from the setting sun with one hand and glared at the structure with a critical frown.  He felt the others come to halt next to him and look down below.

Stingmon gently set Cody down and laid Davis out on the ground.  Gennai bent over to check the boy and then rose to regard their guide.  "How long?"

"For what?" Ken asked without looking at him.

"To fix it."

The former dictator snorted.  "Fully functional?"  His eyes narrowed as he looked at the wreckage and then he turned to the traveler.  "A month."

Yolei's glasses flashed in the dying sunlight.  "We don't have a month, Ken." 

His eyes flickered to her and then back to the base.  "How perceptive of you, Inoue."  A slender arm raised and gestured downward.  "The hole is in the engine room.  With Stingmon's help, I can probably have that patched up and functional by early tomorrow morning.  Depending on the amount of damage done to the core, there isn't going to be much except for main thrusters and auxiliary power.  I can probably do the observation, tracking, and scanning systems by the afternoon."  A sigh slid out from between thin lips and Ken ran a hand through his hair.  "I have to access the mainframe first, though.  I'm not sure how badly the core systems were damaged, and although the dry air wouldn't do much to any exposed equipment, the heat must have reeked havoc on them . . ."

Gennai lifted Davis up in his arms.  "Can you have it all done by tomorrow, say about two-ish?  In the morning?"

"You don't ask for much, do you, Gennai?"  A wry smirk danced across Ken's mouth.  He never could resist a challenge.  He slid down the slope, leaving the Digidestined and a trail of dust in his wake.  "I'd better get crackin', then."

**************

Davis Motomiya flew above the skies of the Digital World, a ghost unable to escape a phantom.  _Her_ phantom . . . _Her_ laugh, _her_ smile, _her_ grace . . . _Her **Light**_.  Goddamn her.

_"But how am I supposed to tell Davis that I'd never date him in a million years."           . . .  "But if your not interested in Davis, you have to tall him so."  . . .  "I don't want to hurt him, Takeru."  . . .  "Then tell him the truth."  . . .  "Thanks TK."  . . .  "Things are going to be okay."  . . .  "How am I supposed to tell Davis that I'd never date him in a million years?"  . . .   "Hope is your area, TK."_

How dare she!  How dare she toy with him.  And how dare he ever think that he had had a chance in hell with the Light.  He was nobody.  He wasn't anything special.  He was just Davis Motomiya—plain, loud, and utterly inglorious.  How dare he . . .

_Davis?_

'Leave me alone!'

_You have to go back, Davis.  You have to face her._

'The hell I do!'

*sigh* Davis_, you must do it!_

'Go back to hell, ghost.'

_Coward._

The spectral Child of Courage and Friendship halted his flight and turned around to stare at the empty sky.  'What did you just call me?!'

_Coward._

'How dare you!'  Davis spun around in the air in search of the source of that cold voice.  'Show yourself!  How is it that I'm a coward when you won't even let me see you?  What the hell do you know about hurting anyway?  You're not even real!  You're not even really here!'

_Do you ever think before you open your mouth, boy?  I know more—have caused and received more—pain than your pathetic mind can possibly comprehend.  I died over pain, but I never made a choice about it!  Yet you world kill yourself over a girl, of all things!  Do you have any idea what I would give to be alive?  To redo everything and apologize to him and make everything all better again?  I can't do that!  He is out there alone and the best that I can do is follow him and whisper in his ear and hope to any god who cares that he listens to me!  You say that I don't know pain?  I know more about pain than you can comprehend!  I don't live in pain everyday, I'm dead in pain everyday—and all that I can do is follow the dead living around, a broken phantom stalking a broken spirit!_

By the last word, Davis's spiritual guide was screaming in a raw and bleeding voice and with every word, he became a bit more visible.  A shadow, a dent in the air, hovered lightly before Davis when the last word was swallowed by the sky, fluttering and fluctuating as the red sunset seeped through it.  The living shade stared at the dead one for a long moment, slightly taken aback.

'I . . .'

_Spare me, Motomiya_.  The voice that emerged from the specter sounded tired and ragged as though the sudden temper tantrum had drained him of energy.  _Are you really so happy to die that this makes for a good excuse?_

'I . . . I'm afraid."

_An American writer named Mark Twain once said that 'Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.'_

'But it hurts.'

_. . . I'm sorry, Davis.  Believe me, I know that doing the right thing sucks, but what are you going to do about it?_

The boy closed his eyes and bowed his head.  'Can I talk to her first?'

_Why?_

'Because doing the right thing sucks and sometimes bad stuff just happens.'

_Yeah, Davis.  You can talk to her._

**************

Stingmon stood, patiently holding up a large steal beam as he watched his partner weld a piece of sheet metal onto the hull.  They had been hard at work for the past two and a half hours and things were moving more rapidly than either of them had dared hope.  The light of the blowtorch illuminated Ken's face in tones of white and vivid blue and a thin black rubber band pulled the boy's indigo hair up off of his neck and out of his eyes so that the blowtorch wouldn't get to it.  A pair of goggles hid his eyes from view and he idly sang under his breath as he worked.

"Disarm you with a smile / Cut you like you want me to / Cut that little child / inside of me and such a part of you / Mmm hmm hmm me, it burns—"

"What are you singing, Ken-chan?"

"What?"  The boy's head snapped up and he blinked at the Champion in confusion through the plexi-glass eyewear.  "I wasn't singing."

Stingmon pressed the beam he held in place so that it could be welded and the platform Ken stood on shivered as he brushed against it.  "Yes, you were.  You said, 'Disarm you with a smile, cut you like you want me to, something something something.' "

"Was I really singing that?"  Ken turned back to the metal.

"Yes.  You were doing that the other night on the balcony, too."  Stingmon paused and waited for Ken to say something.  When only silence was forthcoming, the digimon shifted his position slightly and regarded the flame on the blowtorch intently.  "Why do you sing that song, Ken?  It sounds terribly sad."

"It was a lullaby."

"Hmm?"  Stingmon projected a frown down at the human.

Ken chewed on his lower lip and continued his work.  His words were a murmur.  " . . . When I was little, I used to have frightmares.  They're different than nightmares, worse, but I could never remember what they were about.  I used to try and stay awake all night and I'd lay alone in bed shaking.  Finally, one night it got so bad that I couldn't take it any longer, so I went into Osamu's room.  I must have been standing next to his bed and staring at him for about ten or fifteen minutes before he woke up.  When he saw that I was crying, he picked me up and put me in bed with him and sang that song to me over and over until I went to sleep.  Eventually, that proved to be the only way to get me to sleep without the dreams coming, so every night, I'd stay up until my parents went to bed and then I'd go climb into Osamu's bed and he'd sing that for me.  I did that every night I was home until he died.  Then I just stopped sleeping."  

The blowtorch went silent for a moment and Ken raised his head, eyes far away.  "I remember, I'd sing that when things got real bad, or when I missed him and it got to be too much.  He always felt closer then, like he could hear me, or was saying the words with me like when I would crawl in his bed and he'd hold me.  I haven't sung it in so long, I had forgotten it.  I can't believe I was actually singing it now—that I would remember it after all this time."  Suddenly he shook his head violently, tempting his make-shift ponytail to break loose from its binding.  "Baka!" he exclaimed in disgust.  He started the torch and bent over the welding again, eyes intent on his work.  "Dreams, nothing more.  The foolish dreams of a silly child."

A rumble moved through Stingmon's chest in reply.  "I'm sorry, Ken-chan.  I didn't know."

"I know.  It's alright."

A small voice startled them both.  "I'm sorry, too."

Stingmon nearly dropped the beam in his surprise and the blowtorch fell silent as Ken turned around to stare at Cody with a single uplifted eyebrow.  He looked at the serious little boy critically for a moment before turning back to his welding.  "Hello, Hida.  Where are the others?"

The child shrugged noncommittally.  "Trying to avoid touching anything so that you don't yell at them.  Kari found the kitchen, so she and Yolei have decided to start dinner."

"Ah.  How late is it?"

"You've been down here nearly three hours."  Cody looked away from the other boy to the massive machine that occupied the center of the immense room they were in.  "Is it running yet?"

"I'm going to replace my Crest as soon as these last few beams are in place.  I checked all the piping and the reactor is still online, so it's not as much work as we had feared."  Ken turned off the blowtorch and nodded to his digimon.  "Thank you, Stingmon.  There's not much more for you to do here, so will you please go up and start accessing the core systems in the control room?"

"Of course, Ken."  With a nod in Cody's direction, the Champion straightened and stretched a bit, extending his wings with the motion.  Then he exited the room and left the two boys alone together.

Ken hopped down from the platform he'd been on and returned his blowtorch to its proper place in the toolbox.  He removed a wrench and walked over to the reactor, picking a bolt seemingly at random and carefully tightening it.  He moved on to the next one.  

Cody silently watched him do three bolts in this fashion before his voice managed to work its way past his lips.  "Why?"

Ken didn't look away from his work.  "I need to be sure that everything is in the proper condition.  If there's even the slightest problem with the reactor—"

Green eyes narrowed.  "You know what I meant.  Why?"

Ken still didn't look at him.  "What not?  What difference does it make, anyway?  You can't change the past."

A small hand wrapped itself around Ken's free wrist and jerked him around.  He looked down at Cody Hida with vague amusement and a hard challenge in his eyes.  Cody met him gaze for gaze.  "That's not good enough," the smaller boy whispered intensely.

Ken's eyes flickered from indigo, to blue and then to violet and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.  "Be satisfied, boy.  What do you want me to say?  That I wanted to?  I did.  That I enjoyed it?  I did.  That, as deplorable and twisted as it was, I still sometimes miss it?  I do.  That I'm angry and scared and frustrated and lost and so fucked up that I can barely see where I came from, let alone where I'm going?  I am.  Is that good enough?  Does that make you _feel_ better, Hida?  Does that validate things in your eyes?  There is no justification or validation for what I've done.  I screwed up.  Deal with it and move on.  I sure as hell refuse to linger and pine over it; I've got more than enough problems and things to do without listening to my own pathetic whining."

He yanked his wrist out of Cody's grasp and turned back to the reactor.  "I have work to do now."

Cody looked at a stiff, gray-clad back for a moment and his eyes softened considerably.  Ken ignored him as the smaller boy turned to leave the room.  Then the Child of Knowledge and Reliability stopped at door and turned around.  His voice was soft and Ken stilled so that he could hear him.

"It's kinda funny," the child started as he stared at Ken's back, "you're smart, handsome, athletic . . . all that stuff.  You once brought an entire world to its knees.  By the age of eleven, you built and lost an empire, waged war and conquered, dominated and enslaved, and yet—" he drifted off and shook his head slowly.  Ken focused his gaze on the reactor, afraid of what he would see in the other's eyes.  Cody sighed.  "I feel so sorry for you . . ."

Ken didn't move when he heard the door swish open and close again.  He didn't move when he heard the call button chime.  He didn't move until he felt a cramp in his hand and a slight tick in his bruised face.  Then, with infinite slowness, he stood up, knees popping with the movement.  His hands were shaking.  Seconds later a short, painfully sharp scream of rage echoed through the chamber followed by a loud crash as a wrench was hurled through the air at a high rate of speed.  Then there was silence.

**************

Kari cast Yolei a worried glance through the steam as she carefully stirred the soup.  The Child of Love and Sincerity had been very quiet and withdrawn ever since her test and Hawkmon was worried.  The digimon in question was currently hunting through the pantry area for spices and plates that had not been reduced to shards during the final battle.  Occasionally Gatomon's sharp voice would cut through the bustle with the occasional disparaging remark against the Digimon Emperor, Ken himself, and the boy genius's lineage for the past several centuries.  

A smile twitched across Kari's lips and she turned to Yolei.  "Do you here her in there?" she asked, cocking her head towards the pantry.

"Yeah."  For a minute Yolei said nothing more, simply staring at the pot of noodles she was in charge of.  Then she started to cry.

" . . . Oh, Yolei . . ." Kari laid the spoon down on the stovetop and quickly wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl next her.  "Shh," she whispered as the other girl leaned into her.  "It's okay.  I know.  It's okay.  It's okay."

The shorter girl rocked Yolei back and forth and began to hum offhandly.  She snaked a hand around and turned the flames down; then she returned to rubbing the other girl's in smooth comforting circles.  The neo Digidestined trembled and the two of them stayed like that for several minutes. 

"It wasn't a fair test," Yolei whimpered into her shoulder when she found her voice.

Kari remained silent and let the other girl vent.

"They made me hurt them!" the wine-haired girl explained in a stuttering voice.  "I never wanted anyone to get hurt."

"I know, Yolei.  I know."

She pulled herself out of those comforting arms, gripped Kari's biceps, and shook the other girl slightly.  Her glasses and tears served to enlarge her eyes to unnatural proportions and her face was pale.  "But I thought it was real, Kari.  I was _there_.  How can you stand it?"

Maroon eyes shifted to avoid enlarged rose quartz ones and Kari studied the ground with a sudden and keen interest.  "Because I can't change it, Yolei.  I can't make it better or justify it, so I'm just trying to glean what I can from it and move on."

Yolei's brow contorted as she looked at her in confusion.  "How can you just forgive it like that?"

The Child of Light shrugged helplessly.  "I just . . ."  She exhaled hard and looked up in a plea.  "What more can I do?  They were doing the best they could, right?  It was all for the best, wasn't it?"

"I hope so, Kari."  Suddenly, Yolei smiled, a tense and forced expression.  "C'mon," she said, releasing Kari's arms, "Those boys'll probably be hungry."

The two girls turned away from one another, turned up the flames, and resumed the cooking.  The digimon joined them after a few moments with plates, ginger, and two garlic cloves.  

"Are you feeling better, Yolei?" Hawkmon asked in his polished, slightly nasal voice.

The tall human looked down at him and smiled.  "Yeah, actually I am."  She accepted the garlic from him and looked around for a cutting board.  A slight frown marred her face and Yolei looked to where Gatomon stood beside Kari.  "Was there any parsley?"

The feline glowered.  "Why don't you ask _Ken_?"

Kari cast her partner a sharp look of reproach.  "What gotten into you, Gatomon?  You've been being snippy ever since we got here."

The little Champion shrugged uncomfortably.  "Sorry, Kari.  This place makes my fur stand on end."  Her large blue eyes looked around as though she expected the Dark Masters, Apocalamon, Myotismon, and the Digimon Emperor to all leap out and attack in force, her body was tense and her tail twitched.  "I just keep thinking about all the pain that he caused—and here we are at ground zero."

Kari bent over and pulled the digimon up into a hug.  "It's okay.  Ken's not the Emperor anymore, Gatomon.  He wouldn't hurt us."

"I don't know, Kari."  Yolei shook her head dubiously and found the knife she had been looking for.  The aroma of garlic filled the room.  "Ken may not be the Emperor anymore, but the Emperor is still Ken, and frankly, I don't really see much difference between the two."  Her rose colored eyes turned lifted from the cutting board to look at Hawkmon.  "The parsley?"

He nodded and flapped off towards the pantry.  Gatomon detached herself from her human.  "I'll help."

"Can Ah help, too?" a sudden voice drawled from the doorway.

They all turned to see Armadillomon and a rather dejected looking Cody enter the room.

Gatomon shrugged.  "The more the merrier.  C'mon."

The three 'mons left the room and Gatomon picked up her train of insults again.  Kari smiled and turned to Cody.  "Are you alright?"

"Yeah."  The small boy came over to them and stood on his tiptoes so he could see better.  He looked up at the two girls.  "Can I help you?"

"Actually, could you take over here for me?"  Kari gave him a winning smile.  "I want to find TK and check on Davis."

"No problem."  Cody accepted the wooden spoon from Kari and took her place at the stove.  He had to stretch a bit to reach the pot and Yolei turned a watchful eye to him.

"Thanks," Kari beamed.  She turned towards the pantry.  "Gatomon?  I'm going to the bedroom to find Davis and Gennai."

Gatomon's head appeared around the doorframe.  "Do you want company?"

"Nah."  She waved the Champion away.  "You'll be more help here."

"Okay."  She vanished back into the pantry to continue the ongoing quest for the parsley.

"I'll catch you guys later, alright?"  Tossing a smile behind her, the Child of Light left the kitchen.

After a few moments of silence Yolei looked down at Cody.  "Well?"

He turned to her with solemn green eyes.  "Well, what?"

She hid a smile and turned back to the garlic.  "You did talk to him, didn't you?"

"Yeah."  The boy removed the spoon from the pot and stepped back so that Yolei could dump in some garlic.  

"So, what happened?" she demanded as the knife scraped the cutting board clean.

He shrugged and resumed stirring.  "Nothing much.  I asked.  He evaded.  I pushed.  He pushed back.  End of story."

"Oh."  She looked away uncomfortably.  "I'm sorry, Cody."

"Well, including him, that makes three of us."  Cody leaned over the pot and sniffed experimentally.  He resumed stirring.  "I don't understand him at all."

Yolei checked the noodles.  "Well, including him, that probably makes three of us."

**************

The hallways were darkened and shadows pooled in the corners, ready to shift into distorted figments of someone's warped imagination.  Kari walked with slow hesitant steps through what Ken had called 'auxiliary lighting.'  The former Emperor had instantly cloistered himself, followed by his digimon naturally, in the engine room and set about getting the power on.  He gave them directions to his old bedroom, the kitchen, a few storage areas for supplies, and the sick bay.  She could still hear his cold, clipped voice as he gave them instructions: "If you don't know what it is, where it goes, or where it came from, do not touch it.  In fact, unless it's nailed down to something, don't even look at it.  And if it has lights, buttons, or is made of metal, don't so much as breathe on it, understand?"

Kari smiled sadly.  She slowly drug a hand along the cold metal wall.  Her voice whispered along the edges of the shadows as she spoke.  "You're really a piece of work, Ichijouji."

_He's not the only one._

Kari whirled around, eyes as wide as dinner plates.  Her voice was a shiver.  "Who's there?"

_Me.  What?  Yeah.  So what?  Oh.  Um, okay.  Well, wait just a sec!  Hold on; he says I'm doing it wrong._

"Davis?"  The girl's brows contorted in confusion.  She turned around in a full circle.  "Where are you?"

_Here.  Sorry about that._

Kari gasped as Davis materialized right before his startled eyes.  No, not Davis—a spirit—Davis's spirit.  Her Test returned to her with terrifying clarity when she saw the anger in Davis's chocolate brown eyes and she recoiled.  _How . . ? _ But somewhere deep behind that anger, she saw a fluid and biting pain.  Without knowing how, she knew why it was there.  He knew the truth—somehow, some way, he knew.  _Damnit_.

"I'm not dead," the boy said softly.  "He says I'm just in limbo.  Well, not anymore.  He says now I'm an—" here he stopped and looked off to his right, as though seeking help from someone or thing, "—earth-bound spirit.  Just for now, though.  I wanted—needed—to talk to you first.  Before . . ."  

Her voice was a whimper.  "Davis . . .?"

He looked at her, hurt and reproach bleeding out of his eyes and into his carriage.  "Why didn't you just tell me the truth?" he asked.

Kari bit her lip and studied the floor.  There was no fear in his eyes; he wanted the answer now, he was ready.  "Davis, I . . . I didn't _want_ to hurt you.  It just—" 

"Just what?" he demanded, still bleeding out that silent plea for closure.

The girl looked up, crying.  She wanted to scream.  She wanted to turn away.  She wanted her voice to be something more than a warbling gasp.  "I am so sorry."

"Why can't you love me?"

"Oh, Davis . . . I just . . . don't."

The plea was not appeased.  "But you enjoyed it.  You used me.  You made me a—a—an accessory.  A key chain.  Lipstick to top off your social make-up job.  Why?"

"I don't know."  Conflict burned in her normally bright eyes, dulling them to a thick and clouded amber color.  "I—I guess it made me feel good."

Sudden understanding blossomed in Davis's brown eyes and his features softened and the plea was appeased.  He tilted his head slightly and smiled, an expression that would have been graceful and exquisite on anyone else.  But Davis Motomiya wasn't anyone else, he was Davis Motomiya, and he didn't do graceful or exquisite: it just wasn't his style.  "It's really funny how I keep meeting all these people who remind me of Ken.  Maybe he's not so alone after all.  Maybe none of us are."

"I . . . I don't understand."

"It's cool."  He waved away the confusion on her face with one gloved hand.

"But—"

"Hey," he stepped forward and moved to put his hand on her shoulders, but they merely passed right through her, so he drew away.  It was an awkward moment, but he wasn't at all awkward.  The role-reversal was confusing and disconcerting.  He continued to smile at her, but it now took on a deliciously bittersweet quality.  "It's alright, Kari.  Really."

The Child of Light smiled as the tears sliding down her cheeks grew to full blown, body-shaking sobs.  "I—Puh, please . . . forgive—"

It took all of Davis's control not to try to touch her again.  "Hey, you're my friend, right?  There's nothing to forgive."

Kari looked absolutely awful then.  Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, her face was all red and splotchy, and something suspiciously clear and shiny gleamed under her enflamed nose.  The hallway around her looked too big and dark, and she looked small and fragile, as though the sheer volume of the cool, vent pumped air surrounding them would crush her.  She had never looked less attractive since Davis had meant her.  She was beautiful and he had never loved her more.  But it wasn't the deep or passionate love that he had always believed it to be, it was an ascetic love, the way one feels about a painting or the stars.  It was a love that was beautiful and reverent, but acceptably out of reach, now and forever.  And that was alright.

Davis looked off to the right and nodded.  He turned his eyes back to her.  "I have to go now, Kari."

"Go?!"  The girl looked alarmed at that statement.  "Go where?"

Davis smiled.  "I can feel my body now.  I'm going to go rejoin it."  He began to fade from sight.  "He says I have to hurry.  See ya."

Kari raised her hand towards the living ghost.  "See ya."

After a moment of silence passed before she turned to the patch of air that had so concerned Davis.  There was nothing there now, but the sensation of a dead spirit was etched into the air, complete with the slight chill.  "Thank you, Osamu."

Quickly dashing the last of the tears from her eyes, she turned around to go back to the kitchen.  Davis, she knew, was going to be just fine.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	28. Simplicity and Complications

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain**

****

**__________________________________________________________**

**Remy**: I can' believe dat you convinced me ta go inta a sewer.

**Osamu**: This was not how I wanted to spend my weekend either, Cajun.

**Remy**: I just can' believe dat Ken managed to tie Kai up wit his own whip . . .

**Osamu**: *shrugs* I'm sure that there's something deep and Fruedian about that, but I'm not gonna go there.

**Remy**: When do ya t'ink dis one'll be wakin' up?

**Osamu**: Soon, I hope, because I **refuse** to give him a sponge bath!

**Remy**: Um . . . Vain n'a rien.  R & R, sil vous plait !

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**_~ "And in the morning 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  _**

**_Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times!"_****__**

**-Matthew 16: 3******

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**Part Twenty-Seven**

**Simplicity and Complications******

So?

_So?_

Did I do okay?

_ . . . Not bad.  How do you feel?_

Not bad.

_Nobody likes a smart ass, Davis._

Says you.  Wow, is that me down there?

_Yeah, that's you.  Do you feel the pull?_

It's strong.

_Good.  You're ready then.  Well, go on._

Uh . . . What do I do?

*snort* _And here I was almost beginning to respect you, Motomiya.  Just go down and touch your body._

But—

**_GO!  _**

. . .

_Bye, Davis_.

Wait, where are you going?  Hello?  Are you still there?  Hello?  . . .  Oh, well . . . here goes nothing.

People have often been quoted as saying that when their spirit leaves their body, they see a bright light at the end of a long tunnel.  They're all wrong.  They're not lying, exactly, merely confused because they are still trying to see things as they would exist in a three dimensional, or physical, reality.  Limbo—the area to which all energy forms and spirits, living and dead, are drawn when they forsake their bodies—has no physical form.  It has no dimension.  It has no substance.  Limbo is the essence of thought and reality.  It is the Alpha and Omega, end all and be all, of all things and dimensions.  All forms of matter and energy—because they can never be destroyed, only recycled—are drawn out of and return to limbo.  The soul is aware of this journey in a way the human mind cannot comprehend, so to alleviate cognitive dissonance, the mind invents things that aren't really there.  It is a perfect case study of Gestalt psychology at work: the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

Therefore, when Davis's body jerked his spirit back into place, it briefly phased totally out of synch with the Digital World and back into limbo, so he saw the light at the end of the tunnel.  What he did not expect, however, was for the light to coalesce into four separate shapes, a tiger, dragon, bird, and turtle, and reach out towards him.  Davis had seen the entire "Poltergeist" series at least seventeen times.  By all accounts, he knew that he was supposed to move away from the light.

Then the animals began to speak to him.  He blinked.  This hadn't been in any of the movies.

**You have been found worthy.**

_Um . . .?_

**We are pleased with you, Child of Courage and Friendship.**

_Uh . . . thanks._

**Rest, Child.  You have been Blessed.**

Then the light that outlined the creatures flashed over Davis and a deep warmth settled into his bones.  He smiled, not a smile so much as a Davis smile, and closed his eyes.  And then the light washed him away.

**************

Gennai started slightly as the lights flickered off and on.  He looked up towards the high ceiling and stifled a sigh.

Let it never be said that Ken Ichijouji lacked for style and taste (despite his predilection for whips, torture, enslavement, and a definite lean towards sadism).  The bedroom to which they had been directed was the same one that Ken had occupied during his courtship with insanity and megalomania.  It was large, functional, tasteful, and had just a hint of sterility, fittingly enough, an almost sensual and warped version of his apartment's décor.  The walls were the same dark silver steel that encased every room in the base and were windowless.  Digital World runes and computer code ran along the top of the walls and could have easily been mistaken for a decorative border by someone unfamiliar with the codes.  The lighting, even when they weren't on auxiliary power, was dim and ambient, but lacked any sort of warming or comforting appeal.  A large black circular table was near the hissing electronic door and two night tables of the same color were on either side of the bed.  The bed itself was an enormous round affair clad in dark, dark navy blue sheets, silk—Gennai was sure—and a black comforter that looked so big and thick, you could have gone for a swim in it.  Davis, who was actually a rather petit individual once he shut up, looked like a baby doll lying in daddy's bed.  He looked like he could have drowned there.  On the boy's chest, Demiveemon slept, a curled up ball of furry blue.  Crying was apparently exhausting work.

TK's blue eyes studied the traveler's profile and caught the other man's attention.  Gennai turned to where he sat in a functionally comfortable chair in the far corner of the room.  "Yes?" he asked the blond.

Patamon blushed under the intensity of Gennai's gaze and fluttered down to his human's lap, but TK was undeterred.  "So just what happened between you two anyway?"

Gennai blinked and looked a bit startled.  He knew what TK was referring to, but it was strange to hear the younger boy as him the same question that he had demanded of Osamu Ichijouji just a few short hours ago.  "You mean Ken?"

The blond closed his eyes and nodded.

"Everyone's just dying to know what's up," Patamon chirped helpfully.

Demiveemon shifted his position and Gennai looked away from Hope to stare at Davis again.  "It isn't really you concern," he said not unkindly.  He suddenly understood why Osamu had balked at his earlier inquiry.  Questions like that were ticking time bombs.

TK's azure eyes opened.  "If it affects the team, it's very much our concern, Gennai." 

Hazel eyes rose to regard the boy again.  Damn logic.  "I . . ." he stuttered a bit and then waved a hand at through the air in front of him as though clearing away clutter.  "It's . . . complicated."

TK lifted an eyebrow and Gennai quickly decided that that was his absolute least favorite expression in the world.  Matt did it, Osamu did it, Ryou did it, Cody did it, Ken did it, and now TK was doing it.  Yeah.  He was really beginning to hate that look.

"Complicated," the Child of Hope repeated as though tasting the word for the first time.  "Why does everyone seem to think that things have to be so 'complicated' with Ken?"

"Because," the traveler responded dryly, lifting an eyebrow of his own, "Ken is a rather difficult person to interact with."  He shrugged then as he tried to soften those words.  "Given everything that's happened to him, that's rather understandable to a point, but Ken just seems to thrive off of misery.  His own as well as everyone else's.  If he's not happy, then nobody else within a thousand kilometers in any direction will be either."  Gennai let loose a bitter and deprecating snort.  "Well, you can't say that he doesn't share." 

TK scowled slightly and ran an absent hand over Patamon's furry hide.  "That doesn't sound very fair."

"You disagree with me?"

"No, it's not that."  TK shook his head.  "But something had to make him that way.  Yeah, there're people and digimon who're just plain evil, but no human, at least, is born that way.  I mean there has to be some reason they turned out that way."  A sudden thought occurred to the boy and he eyed the other human speculatively.  "You know why he became the Emperor, don't you?  That's why he hates you—he blames you."

Gennai shifted a bit in his chair, uncomfortable with where this conversation was heading.  TK was getting close—far too close for comfort—to things that Ken didn't even know and would hopefully never be aware of.  There was a lot riding on the Digidestined and the last thing that they needed was to put more on their proverbial plates.  He nodded.  "Sort of.  Ken doesn't hate me, he's just . . . murderously angry with me.  But that has nothing to do with his whole Prince of Darkness Phase."

"He said that you got someone killed.  Is that it?"

Gennai looked away.  _Way to pour salt into the wound, kid_, he thought sourly.  "Yah.  He blames me, perhaps rightly so, for the disappearance of one of his old friends."  _His only friend . . ._

"So you mean to say that you knew nothing about the Emperor?"  TK shook his head and Gennai added the motion to his growing list of body language that he hated.  "I don't believe that.  You could have easily stopped Ken before he gained so much power—before the control spires, rings, and Kimeramon," the tow-headed Keeper of Hope declared.

The traveler frowned at him.  _Somebody must really hate me . . ._ "We underestimated him.  Never," he leaned forward a bit to accentuate his point and shook his finger at the boy, "never did we predict that he would be capable of such mass destruction or cruelty.  We never imagined that he was capable of wreaking such havoc."

An accusatory finger lifted to ward off Gennai's previous gesture. "But you knew that it was possible!"   

"Yes," the other man acknowledged, "but they—" He cut off abruptly.  There was simply no way in hell that he could possibly make this sound good.

" 'They?'  Who's they?  And they what?" TK asked, unappeased.

Gennai looked away and mumbled something.

"What?"

" . . ."

"They what?"

A defeated whisper.  "They wanted to see what would happen."

Patamon squeaked as though he'd been stuck with a straight pin and TK blinked and sat back heavily, shocked.  He vigorously rubbed his face with both hands.  "So you just let it all happen?" he whispered.  "Everything . . . You knew and you let it all happen."

" . . . Yes.  It was just supposed to be an experiment.  Nobody was supposed to get hurt.  We—I underestimated him.  Horribly.  And there were other . . . variables that were not taken into account as well."

TK and Patamon both stared at him with a kind of bemused horror.  He looked away from their biting blue eyes.

Suddenly Davis scared about ten years off of all their lives by yawning, licking his lips, sitting up (much to Demiveemon's surprise and discomfort), and frowning at Gennai.  His chocolate eyes absorbed the young man in disapproval.  "And here I thought that _I_ screwed up."

Demiveemon promptly leapt off of the bed and wrapped his little flippers around his partner's face, nearly smothering the boy.  "**_DAVIS!!!!!!_**"

Strong hands reached up and peeled the excited in-training off his face.  He held the digimon out at arm's length and grinned.  "Miss me, little guy?"

The creature beamed.  "I was so worried."  Suddenly he twisted out of Davis's hands, hopped up into the air and soundly whapped his human over the head.

"Ow!"

Ruby eyes glared up at him through a thin layer of tears.  "Don't you ever do that again!!"

The boy pulled his little partner to him in a tight embrace.  "Oh.  Okay."

"So, how are you feeling?" a gentle voice inquired to his right.

Davis looked over at Gennai with serious eyes.  "A lot better than you'll be when Ken hears about this," he said matter-of-factly.  His wild hair trembled as he shook his head and his goggles flashed.  "Wormmon's gonna spend the next two weeks cleaning your stain off the wall."

Gennai looked away.  "I didn't even feel it when you re-entered your body.  So how much did you hear?"

"Oh, around: 'I don't believe that.  You could have easily stopped Ken before he gained so much power,' " he said as he stroked Demi's head.

"So, why did you tell us all this stuff?" asked Patamon from TK's lap.

"You're not learning anything new," Gennai said with a shrug.

Davis blinked and TK lifted that damned eyebrow again.  "Huh?"

"To get Ken to bring us here, I agreed to tell you some things a bit later on.  So that you'll know what's going on—what you have to do—to face the Dark One."

Demiveemon frowned.  "What are you going to tell us?"

"Everything."

**************

"DINNER!!!"

Ken jumped and banged his head on the metal panel above him as Yolei's sharp voice cracked through the speakers.  "Damnit . . ." he muttered, rubbing the offended area.  _How the hell did _she_ find the P.A. system?_

"Are you alright, Ken-chan?"

Still muttering curses under his breath, the dark-haired boy pushed the gurney he was laying on out from beneath the computer panel which currently occupied his attention.  "Fine."  He sat up and squinted a bit as the light invaded his eyes.  He glared at the cold ceiling lights with a black expression.

"I take it that that didn't work," Stingmon stated from the far side of the room.

"I'm not done yet," his human replied through a sigh.  "Did you finish up in the control room?"

The Champion nodded.  "Yes, but I think you should take a look at the navigation system yourself."

The youth nodded and lay down again to finish his work on the panel.  He had forgotten how much help Wormmon had been in the layout and organization of the base when he had first built it.  Other than himself, his partner knew the structure better than anyone else.  He grunted as he touched two wires together and bright sparks flew into his face.  There was a loud whirring and comforting static noise of electricity flowing.  The ceiling lights popped, then flashed, then settled down to a bright florescent glow.

Stingmon's voice drifted to him from across the room.  "I see you fixed the problem."

Ken pulled himself out from under the panel again.  A satisfied smirk was pasted on his face.  "It was the subsystems.   I doubt that there'll be any more problems for now."

"Ah."  Stingmon replaced the panel he was working on and dedigivolved.

"Is it a good day today, Ken-chan?" Wormmon asked as his partner lifted him up in his arms.

"Today could never be a good day, my friend."  He hugged his digimon closer.  

"Is it because of Osamu?"  He felt Ken flinch.

"Osamu, the base, the Dark World . . ."  He shook his head.  "Or it could just be me.  I got into a . . . discussion with little Hida."

"He's a nice boy," offered the virus.  

Ken snorted noncommittally.  For a moment the two were silent, merely enjoying one another's company.  Then: "Thank you," Ken whisper to his digimon.

"Hmm?"  Blue eyes blinked in confusion.

"For coming here." He lifted the caterpillar up to his usual perch on his shoulder and started off towards the control room.  "For helping me.  I know how much you hate this place."

Wormmon said nothing, choosing to snuggle closer to Ken instead.  

The boy chuckled.  He lifted his friend off his shoulder and put him on the ground when they reached a four-way intersection in the hall.  The left hand path led to the kitchen, the right hand path led to storage and the minimum security holdings, and the front hall lead to the control room and the observation room.

Wormmon looked at him curiously.

"Go eat, Wormmon," Ken said, pointing down the left hall.  "I don't really feel too social right now.  I need to—"

"Get your head together?" the digimon supplied helpfully.

"Yeah." The boy cast him an almost painful smile.  "I'll be in the observation room."

"Okay," Wormmon said.  He waited until Ken vanished up the hallway before heading towards the kitchen.  It surprised him, but the little insect found that he actually missed this place a bit.  The work that they had done today reminded him of when they had first built the base before everything went bad.  The two of them had built this structure together.  Occasionally, an airdramon or gazimon would help them out, but the two of them had always been together.  Ken taught him about computers and how to make minor repairs.  Wormmon told Ken everything he knew about the Digital World and the Digidestined, which was actually quite a bit.  Other than their days with the Tamer, it had been the most fun he had ever had in his life.  Odd, how something that had been the cause of so much joy and laughter had ended up being the instrument of such destruction and misery.  Wormmon had long ago concluded that Fate had a severely warped sense of humor.  He had once told Ken this and his boy merely shrugged.  "She's a bitch," he'd said without bothering to explain what he meant.  _Note to self_, thought the digimon, _ask Ken what a 'bitch' is._

"Oh, wow, Yolei," a voice exclaimed from the kitchen, "You guys really outdid yourselves.  This looks great!"

Ahh, so the Davis boy was up.  Ken would be happy to hear that.  Wormmon puttered into the kitchen, his pods making their odd clicking / suction noise against the metal floors.  He was the last one to arrive, everyone else had already found seats around the dining table, leaving two chairs for him and Ken.  

"Hello," he greeted as he made his way into the room.  

"Hello, Wormmon."

"Hi."

"Howdy."

"Hungry?"

"You look tired."

"Everything all right?"

"Wormmon."

"Good evening, my good fellow."

"Hey, dude!"

"HI!!"

"Oh, hi, Wormmon.  At least we don't have to feed a Champion.  No offense, Gatomon."

The number and enthusiasm of the greeting startled the digimon and he momentarily shied back, almost ready to flee before Gennai suddenly scooped him up in one arm.  "Where's your master?" he asked as he set the caterpillar on the table.

Wormmon blinked his large eyes several times as he tried to get his bearings.  "Observation deck."  He eyed the enormous steaming pot in the center of the table with a mix of curiosity and healthy wariness.  His antennae twitched.

"Why's he up there?" demanded Yolei as she filled the bowl Kari handed her and gave them to Gatomon to pass out.

"Head clutter," the digimon said wisely as he glared suspiciously at the bowl in front of him.

Davis stared at virus, a slice of half-buttered bread frozen in his hand.  "Is that like lice?"

"What's a lice?"  Wormmon shook his head and then peered into his bowl curiously.  "I'm sure it's nothing like that," he said into his soup, "but Ken is always going off to clear his head, so I guess it must get pretty cluttered up there.  Maybe it's 'cause he's so smart."  Wormmon looked back up, acutely aware that he was being stared at.  He tilted his head in confusion and looked at Cody who was perched on the edge of a chair.  "You're smart.  Doesn't your head get cluttered?"

Cody blushed.

"Should we set him a place?" asked Patamon from his seat next to TK.

TK frowned.  "I don't know, Patamon . . . If he wants to be alone—"

"No!"  Yolei slammed a bowl down at Ken's place and the hot soup leapt out onto the table.  "I did not nearly chop off my fingers on garlic and parsley so that he could pretend that he doesn't need food like a _normal_ human being and go off and pout somewhere!  He wants head clutter, I'll give him clutter and I don't care if he _is_ the amazing and astounding 'Ken Ichijouji!'  I said 'dinner' and I meant _now_!!"

They all stared.

"Calm down, Yolei," said Cody.

Demiveemon leaned over to his partner.  "I think that someone left the gas on in the kitchen."

"It's the garlic," Hawkmon confided.

"Ah."

Gennai, Kari, Davis, and TK stood at the same time.  The elder cast the other three sharp glances and frowned.  "I'll go get Ken.  You guys just keep the pot warm."

He turned and left, cloak flaring in his wake.  Davis and TK traded knowing glances.  Somehow they were both very happy not be participants in _this_ conversation.

**************

_The wind blew through his hair, toying with it before dancing away again, light as a mischievous child.  His slender hands wrapped around the bars that blocked off the edge and kept him trapped.  The grip was so tight his hands hurt.  Below him, the city of Tokyo was spread out like an enormous doll set, painted blood red in the twilight._

_"Look at them," he half-hissed, half-growled as he stared down at his fellow man, "Running about their meaningless lives like rats running through a maze." The wind took his words and flew away with them, ruffling his hair in its wake.  " Not one of you is worth half of what I am."  He ground his teeth and yanked viciously at the bars.  He wanted to scream.  He wanted to cry.  He wanted to wrench the bars free of the cement wall and hurl himself down eight stories and into the pavement of the street.  He wanted to _**show them**_.  "NOTHING BUT FOOLS!"_

**************

Gennai found the young genius in what appeared to a large observation room.  One pale hand rested against the glass of an enormous window and his eyes stared out at the drab landscape without really registering it.  If he noticed the traveler's intrusion, he gave no signs of it and kept his back to the door.  Absently the older man wished that the former Emperor had had the foresight to put a chair in here.

"There's something wrong with me, isn't there?"

Gennai blinked, startled, and looked at Ken's back.  This was not how he had planned on this conversation being initiated.  Accusations: yes; demands: yes.  Perhaps he would have even eventually gotten around to getting Ken to dinner.  But that?  "What do you mean?"

Ken tilted his head and closed his eyes wearily.  He did not turn around.  "I'm not normal, am I?"

"You are Digidestined," the other responded, dreading where this conversation seemed to be heading.

"You know that that's not what I meant."

Gennai sighed and walked over to the window to stand next to the boy.  They still did not look at one another.  "What would you like me to say?"

"The truth."

A dismissive shrug.  "There's no such thing as the truth."

Ken made a small sound of agitation and turned his head, blue-violet eyes glaring murder at his companion.  "Then the reality of the situation!"

"Reality?"  Gennai turned his head and lifted an eyebrow.  "There's no such thing as reality."

For a moment it looked as though the boy was going to hit Gennai—something the man definitely felt that he could do without—but then he merely shrugged, wrapped his arms around himself, and closed his eyes.  He tilted his head to the side again before bowing it to his chest.  Gennai wondered if Osamu was there now—if he could see the obvious pain his brother was in.

"Do you enjoy this?" Ken murmured, sounding sleepy and detached.  He shook his head, eyes still closed.  "I am growing weary of this game, traveler.  I want answers.  I _need_ them.  Please," he looked up into Gennai's eyes, "what's happening to me?"

The man shook himself and unconsciously mimicked Ken's defensive posture, arms tight around him.  He looked away from those angry, pleading eyes.  "I don't enjoy this Ken.  This is not my idea of fun . . . But I am bound—"

"Bound!" Ken spat the word contemptuously.  "You and your bondage!  What is that to me?!  What about _my_ shackles?  I am being drawn towards a destiny that I neither want nor understand, yet all you do is tell me not to worry about it!  You tell me that everything is going to be alright."

Gennai reached out to comfort the boy.  "Ken—"

He jerked away.  "No!  This is not right!  It's not going to be alright!  _There is no alright_."

Gennai dropped his hand and turned back to the window, shaking his head sadly.  "I know that."  Ken looked over at him sharply, brow distorted by confusion.  The older man shrugged as he continued.  "All there is is what will be.  That is alright."

"But it's not!" the boy snapped angrily.  He resisted the urge to stomp his foot in protest.  "Who says so?  Who makes it that way?  I am nobody's puppet—"

"It is hard," Gennai interrupted softly, ignoring the boy and looking out the window, "to bear the burden of two destinies.  Particularly when their natures and the personalities are so different.  It won't bring him back, you know."  Gennai looked down at his companion.  The Child of Kindness looked like he had just been punched in the stomach.  With a sledgehammer.  Gennai continued anyway.  "Leading the life that he should have lead—it won't bring Osamu back."  The traveler stooped slightly so that they were at eye-level and gently placed his hands on Ken's shoulders.  He softened his voice.  "Put it down, Ken.  If it's too heavy, just put it down."

Ken was shaking under his hands and tears further magnified his already-large eyes.  He drew a painfully shallow breath and his voice trembled.  "I don't know how."

Gennai stiffened, unsure how to react.  Ken's tremors continued until he was shaking like a leaf in a windstorm.  Gennai was afraid that he would shake his entire body apart.  So he did the only thing he could, he pulled the trembling child into a gentle embrace.

Ken gave a small cry and struggled briefly.  He fought like a bird, heart thundering, arms pushing, nails clawing—it lasted nearly five seconds.  Then a massive shudder left Ken's body and he collapsed against the taller man's frame.  He didn't cry, though.  He simply lay in the traveler's arms and trembled, and for the briefest moment all that mattered was that he didn't have to support himself and, for the first time in years, he was almost warm.

"What's happening to me?" he whispered into Gennai's robed shoulder.

". . . You're still learning, Ken."

The boy pulled away from him suddenly and went to stare out the immense window.  "Yeah, well, it sucks."  He raised a fine boned hand and pressed it against the window as though he could push through the glass, reach out, and scoop the desert up in the palm of his hand.  "I want answers, sir."

The traveler started.  Ken hadn't called him 'sir' in years.

"I need them."

Gennai studied the ground.  "When can we move?"

". . . I did a patchwork job on the system, so it still needs a lot of checking.  After dinner I'm going to get things rolling."

"The let's go eat."

Ken spun around and watched the traveler's back as the other man headed towards the door.  "Gennai!"  

He didn't stop.  "After dinner, Kenny-boy.  I'm hungry."

The door slid shut with a hiss behind him.

**************

A world away, a dark figure paced in his chamber.**  "She failed me.  Of the three tasks I gave her . . . she completed not one of them!"**

A tall, slender figure shrugged in the shadows.  "What did you expect, beloved?  She wasn't even human . . . or even a digimon, for that matter."

**"I am not in the mood to deal with you now, my dear."**

"That's just too bad then.  Gennai's found allies."

**"Gennai?"**  The figure stopped pacing and assumed an almost pensive air**.  "Ah . . . so you've grown a spine after all, my little one."**

The female approached him.  If anyone had seen her, they would have noticed that she bore a striking resemblance to Lady Devimon, save that he hair was teal and her eyes were empty sockets in her head.  Her abnormally large hands were on her tiny hips in a startlingly human gesture, the long cruelly tapered finger wrapping around her body until the tips of one hand touched the tips of the other.  "Little one?" she spat in contempt, her mouth twisting a face that was both horrifying and beautiful.  "You underestimate him, beloved!  You always have!  Time has passed.  Gennai is no longer the child that he once was.  He is dangerous."

**"Nonesense,"** the dark figure rumbled in something close to a laugh.**  "We can claim Gennai as easily as we did Ichijouji."**

She glared at him with nonexistent eyes.  "Counting chickens now?  In case you haven't noticed, Ichijouji still fights under the banner of Light and every moment we lose him a bit more.  Your failure with the Arachnemon has only brought them closer together."

**"_My_ failure?  Have a care my dear . . . I love you, but one day you will push me too far."**

"There are spirits at work here!"

**"The first born Ichijouji?"**

"Yes . . . and there is another helping him."

**"What do you mean?"**

"Another spirit . . . living, yet not.  It is a young spirit.  It has been in limbo for a very long time now."

**". . ."**

"You were unaware?"

**"The cards have been dealt."**

"We must destroy Ichijouji."

**"The cards have been dealt.  Let the game play out."**

She clenched her enormous hands into fists.  "Why will you not heed me?  The Child has a Dark Seed within him!  If they rediscover the key to the Golden Radiance, we are through!"

**"Light is their weakness.  And Gennai's loyalty to those fool Guardians wavers everyday.  We must gather our strength for the coming battle."**

The female looked down at the ground.  "And what of these spirits?"

**"Who is the other?"**

"I do not know; the Guardians protect his soul from my eyes.  He is to be the next one, I think."  She looked up, the cavernous holes in her skull seeming to be eerily animate.  "He is beyond our grasp."

The dark figure nodded absently.

"Then you will persist in continuing your attempt to bring Gennai back to you?"

**"HE WAS MINE!"** the Dark One thundered in a voice so loud that the very earth seemed to shake.  **"THEY TOOK HIM FROM ME—TURNED HIM FROM ME!"**

The female merely nodded.  If the outburst had frightened or startled her, she gave no sign and turned to go.

**"Stop."**

She turned back around regarding him coolly for a moment.  No matter how high she stood here, He ruled, and she never once forgot that.  She lifted an eyebrow, sensing doubt in the immense silence that stood between them.  She shrugged.  "I followed you into hell, my love.  Why doubt that I'll go with you back to heaven?"

He said nothing and she left.  There were preparations to be made.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	29. A Seperate Path

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) ****

**__________________________________________________________**

bVain:/b Oh my God, I've actually update.

bHisoka:/b Will wonders never cease?

bKaiser:/b  WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

bVain:/b  Calm down, Kai.  I told you I was writing a Yami no Matsuei fic, didn't I?  Well, meet my newest muse.

bRemy:/b Is it just me or is it gettin' ta be a bit crowded here, neh?

bKaiser:/b *glares at Hisoka*  Somebody's gonna pay for this.

bHisoka:/b *lifts an eyebrow*  Why exactly do you smell like you just crawled out of a sewer?

bKaiser:/b *twitches*

bVain:/b *smirks* I own nothing and I'm poor.  R&R, please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**_~ "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth._**

**_I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."_****__**

**-Matthew 10: 34**

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**Part Twenty-Eight**

A Separate Path 

Dinner was a rather hurried affair.  Ken was silent, secretive, and brooding, which wasn't unusual in and of itself, but he somehow managed to cast a rather sedate air over the table.  Kari was pale and quiet, although she looked more relaxed than she had since the Test—somehow some of the sadness was gone.  Davis kept grinning and starting lines of conversation that nobody really followed except for Wormmon and Veemon, who had made poor Patamon choke on a rice ball when the little blue digimon digivolved about five minutes through the meal.  Gatomon and Patamon then decided to lecture the "inexperienced" digimon on proper digivolving form and Hawkmon tossed out a few of his own tidbits of wisdom, conveniently overlooking the fact that he was actually a few days younger than Veemon.  Wormmon seemed to find the entire production intensely amusing at first, but after it started to get a bit too weird for his sensitive tastes, he allowed Armadillomon to entice him into a discussion on the finer points of Japanese and Australian cuisine.  Gennai picked up the conversational slack and tried to interest Cody in a discussion about computer programs but kept getting interrupted by Yolei, who seemed to think that everything he had been doing for the past several years was hopelessly backwards.  Davis would occasionally toss an odd little grin Kari's way and she would return it.  After casting several covert glances in TK's direction, Yolei was surprise to see that the Child of Hope neither noticed the weird little exchanges nor cared.  He was staring at Ken.

Abruptly, the dark-haired genius stood, absently tossing his napkin on the table.  Everyone stopped and looked at him.  "I need to do a few little things before we're ready to go.  Will you all meet me in the Control Room in roughly an hour and forty-five minutes?"

It was simply amazing how much a question could sound like an order.

Yolei fixed a hard glare at him and opened her mouth, but Ken merely turned around and walked away.  He stopped in the doorway for a moment and looked back at the table with a slight frown.  The Child of Love and Sincerity continued to glare and the former tyrant shook himself as though disgusted with something.  He shrugged slightly and spoke in a barely audible voice.  "Thank you.  Dinner was excellent."

**************

Ken punch a few more buttons on the arm pad of his throne and glared at the power levels the monitors displayed.  His opposite hand clenched into a fist and he smashed it down into his thigh.  The pain didn't resister.  "Intolerable," he growled at the numbers.  They stared back at him silently, unafraid of the former Kaiser's wrath.

Behind Ken the door slid open, a long rectangle of light against the otherwise black wall.  Wormmon puttered in, his pods making their distinct popping noises against the smooth metal floor.  The little virus stopped short when he saw his human sitting on the throne—the former heart of his empire . . . 

One of Ken's hands was balled up into an angry fist and the other was being used to prop up his head.  His eyes were cold and flat, reflecting only the light of the large screens before him.  Deep lines of displeasure twisted the boy's face into something cruel and unnaturally harsh and his lips were a firm unforgiving line, making him look years older than he actually was.  Add spiked hair, a royal blue and white jumper, heavy black boots, a yellow-fringed cape, and a whip and—

"Did you reroute the power, Wormmon?" Ken's icy voice slid through his thoughts.

  "Yes, sir."

The boy nodded without looking at him.  It had only been a few weeks and it was very easy for them to both to slide back into the roles that they had occupied for so very long.  Old habits sometimes refuse to ever die completely.  Ken stood and walked over to the monitors, arms akimbo.  He reached up towards a computer panel that would have been invisible to anyone else and punched a few button seemingly at random.  The keys glowed a heavy malevolent red as his fingers danced over the console.

A grunt of approval slid from between his lips and he nodded curtly as the numbers and graphs on the monitors began to climb.  45% 57% 62% Power would need to be rerouted from some of the lower levels.  69% 72% 74% . . . 74%

Would that be enough?  It would have to be.

"Computer," the boy genius barked sharply into the chill air, "run a diagnostic of all systems and subsystems still operational.  Operational Procedures: Kaiser Theta 10.  Display all available data."

_"Estimated time for analysis: 23 minutes and 58 seconds."_

A muscle twitched in Ken's jaw.  "Initiate."

There was the instant and intense hum of machinery as the computers set about their mammoth task and Ken returned to his throne.  He crossed his legs and propped his head up on his right hand, drumming the fingers of his left hand on the throne's armrest.  _Tap . . . tap . . .tap . . .tap_.  Something didn't feel quite right about this situation.

"Ken-chan?"

_Tap . . . tap . . .tap . . .tap_.  Something felt out of place.

"Ken?"

_Tap . . . tap . . .tap . . .tap_.  It was like . . .  

" . . . Master?"

_Tap . . . tap . . _. Unforgiving violet eyes pinned the little insect to the floor and it took all of Wormmon's power not to shy back.  As it was, he couldn't help cringing a bit.

_"What?"_  It was like . . 

"I'm sorry, Master."

Ken stiffened as he realized what was wrong.  His face instantly softened.  "Oh, Wormmon, I'm so sorry . . ." Twisting around at an odd angle, the boy bent over the arm of his chair and lifted his partner into his lap.  "I didn't—"

"I know, Ken-chan."  The little virus snuggled up closer to his boy.  "It's okay.  I did it too."

The child reclined in his seat and ran a hand through limp hair.  "Old habits," he murmured.

The two sat still as the computer hummed a soothing electronic lullaby.  Ken's head nodded a bit and the figures that he was staring at on the monitor began to blur together.  His head snapped up again and he blinked.  _Great_, he chided himself in disgust.  _Now is not the time to be falling asleep, genius._

Unfortunately, Wormmon's warmth in his arms, the music of the computers, several sleepless nights, and a belly full of soup were all conspiring to do him in and his head began to nod once more.  Violet eyes fluttered closed delicately and deep within Ken Ichijouji's mind a dream arose and reached out long cold hands to drag him into slumber.

**************

A shadow moved through the ship, flowing towards the engine room.  It was here, she knew.  She could feel its presence.  If the Master insisted on keeping Ichijouji alive, then she would be sure that the boy was weakened.  Such a move would severely cripple the Digidestined and hopefully force Gennai to join with them.

She suddenly stopped, her senses going on full alert as she felt a shift in the barriers of time and space.  "What is this?" she murmured, trying to place the feeling.  Her empty eye socket looked up and scanned the ceiling as though it could yield answers.  "So . . . the little Brat Emperor has slid into yet another phase warp . . . I should hurry."

Ken had cleaned up the engine room after his repair duty, so it was immaculate as ever.  Not that it mattered—she could have found what she was looking for anywhere.  A smile graced her full lips as she flowed towards the core.  She could feel it there, it's Darkness acting like a beacon.  It was reacting both to the Darkness of her presence and the fact that she was not its master.  

The missing half of the Digimental of Miracles; without it, the Digidestined would be helpless.

_Now where is it?_  She honed in on the feeling.  _Ah . . ._ "What?!"

The tugging had ceased.  "How . . .?"

The woman sent out her mind, desperately searching for the Golden Digi Egg.  _Where is it?  How did this happen?  It was just here!!_

Her search yielded nothing.

A sharp hiss of air left the shadow's lips as she scanned again.  Nothing.  A familiar presence tugged at the edges of her mind, though.  It was Gennai.  A smirk danced over her face.  Perhaps this would not be a wasted trip after all.  Ichijouji still had to be dealt with, but for now, rattling the traveler's cage would have to suffice.

She vanished, headed towards her former protégé.  After she disappeared, two phantoms became visible near the core.  

Osamu glared at his unwelcome companion.  _What the hell are you doing?!  You shouldn't be here.  It's dangerous for you.  And what if the Guardians found out?  You know how important you are to their plans._

_// What?  And miss out on all the fun? //_

_I'm serious!_

_// You're always serious, 'Samu. //_

_What did you do with the other half of the Digimental?  Why have you removed it from this plane?!_

_// Relax.  It'll be safe. I'm going to be putting it to good use. //_

Damnit, when are you going to grow up?!  This isn't a game anymore.  Ken needs that!  You can't just decide to jump in during the middle of things!  Given everything that you've gone through, I would have expected you to be more responsible.  Don't you ever think things through?! 

_//Oh!  And of course only _you_ know what's best for Ken, don't you?!  Don't you dare play the loving big brother to me, Ichijouji!  I know you too well for that!  Don't forget that I know what you've done and I know exactly why your soul was consigned to limbo instead of transcending, so don't you dare get self-righteous with me!  This is all your fault, anyway! He never should have been left alone!  //_

Osamu pulled back and pointed an accusing finger at the other spirit_.  I don't trust you with him—he got hurt because of you.  You're the reason he's running around with that . . . that _thing_ growing inside him!_

A sigh.  _// You don't trust anybody with him.  He's not a baby, Osamu. //_

The purple haired ghost glared at his old friend and ten turned away and vanished, hurt by this reproach.  The other remained there for a long moment.  The spirit fluttered and sent out his mind, feeling for Ken's location.  Perfect—he was approaching limbo.  The air in the spirit's hand shimmered, slowly coalescing into something dark and pulsing with restrained power.  The spirit looked at it sadly for a moment and wished that there was a gentler way to rejoin the halved Crest.  There was not.

Osamu's words rang in the air_. You're the reason he's got that _thing_ growing inside him!  _

It was always the same old argument with Osamu.  There could be no doubt that he loved Ken, but he was suffocating the boy.  When Osamu realized that Ken had been chosen to be Digidestined and not him, it had been almost more than he could bear and now this was happening.  Osamu had been horrified to see the rise of the Emperor, but never had the spirit attributed it to his own action—he hadn't even noticed the rather alarming resemblance that the Emperor bore to him until it was pointed out.  

Another sigh disturbed the air._   // I'm sorry for this Osamu, but he's not just your baby ototochan anymore.  He's not even human anymore . . . //_

**************

"That," declared Davis, "was undoubtedly one of the best meals I have ever eaten!"

Yolei gave him a level look.  "You and TK still have to do the dishes, Davis."

"Hey!  I was being serious."  The goggle boy crossed his arms and looked defensive and put out.  "Why doesn't anyone ever believe me?"

"I believe you," Veemon offered.

Davis grinned at his partner.  "You want my last cream puff?"

The little vaccine's eyes lit up.  "Yeah!!"

Gennai smiled faintly and rose.  "I have something that I need to do."

"But—" Davis closed his mouth over the words as the traveler vanished out the door.  "Hmph."  He turned to the blond sitting across from him.  "I guess that we should get started TP."

The blond merely stood up, tucked Patamon under and arm and picked up a plate with the last three cream puffs.  "Sorry, Davis.  I already volunteered to take Ken and Wormmon dessert."

"But—" He stared as Takeru also vanished.  He turned to Veemon.  "What just happened here?"

Yolei's voice rolled out of the kitchen like a peel of thunder.  "DAVIS, DISHES!  NOW!"

**************

Gennai's footsteps echoed down the hall.   The shadow cast grotesque images across him as he moved but he ignored them.  It had been a long time since shadows had frightened him.  A sudden chill went up his spine and he came to an abrupt halt.

He turned around in a slow circle.  "Ken?"  There was silence.  "TK?  Davis?  Yolei?  Kari?"  No one answered.  The young man's voice dropped down to a whisper.  "Osamu . . .?  Is that you?"

Silence.

Suddenly, a woman's low sultry laughter cut through the air and slid through Gennai's ears like a knife.  He stiffened and choked back a gasp of surprise and fear.  The voice was smooth and low with the promise of pleasure and pain and lust and sin.  Gennai took a step back as the chill in the hall localized itself and the air solidified into a shadow.

The shadow slowly took shape until it was the outline of a tall, slender woman wrapped in a cloak.  Her entire demeanor seemed to scream: 'look at me, you idiot!  I am everything that you have ever wanted, ever dreamed of!  I am you hottest dream and most forbidden fantasy and all you have to do is believe in me to make it real!'  A dark cowl covered her face down to the tip of her delicate nose.  A wide full mouth the color of red roses was set in a face the color of fine china—not pale, but paper white.  Gennai didn't need to see the face to know the woman's identity.

"What are _you_ doing here?" the traveler hissed, recoiling from the translucent woman.

"Now, now, Gennai.  Is that any way to greet an old friend?" she purred in a deep throaty voice.

Gennai cast an unnecessary glance around him to make sure that he was alone before he took a menacing step towards her.  "How did you get here?"

"Oh, relax," she drawled, waving a grossly over-sized hand with dangerously tapered fingers through the air.  "This is only an astral projection.  Besides, the forces of Darkness are strong here.  It is easier to slip through the widening rift between dimensions in places like this."

Gennai stared at her hand in horror.  "What happened to you?" 

She put her hands on her hips, suddenly angry.  "You betrayed us, that's what happened to us!" she hissed.  "You stood against us in the final battle and helped those brats lock us away in that damnable dimension!  That's what happened to us!"

"No," the traveler shook his head sadly and regarded her with pity.  "You betrayed yourselves, my dear.  You betrayed your covenant with the Guardians and brought this ruin upon yourselves."

"The Guardians!" she spat in contempt, tossing her head like an offended horse.  "The corrupt masters of two decaying worlds!  We offered you eternity as a god—and instead you choose lifetimes as a slave.  We offered you forever."  Suddenly her voice dropped to a whisper and she took an almost hesitant step forward.  She raised a long sharp finger up and drew it across his jaw line, down his neck and down his chest.  "I offered you more."

"I—"

"Do you think I didn't know how you felt about me?"  She leaned closer as her hand continued its downward path.  "Do you think I didn't care?"

Gennai was frozen like a bird under the eyes of a cobra.  She was so close he could almost smell her.  This was every childhood fantasy that he had ever had come true, and he knew it was sick, he knew it was wrong, he knew that it was twisted and foul.  And he wanted it anyway.  She was so close he could almost taste her . . .

_"Stop it, you imbecile!!!"_

Gennai jerked away from the shade sharply as a loud spectral voice cut through the overheated hormonal sludge of his thoughts.  "Whu—"

The woman made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a growl and her mouth twisted unpleasantly.  She vanished.

Gennai staggered backwards, shocked and uncoordinated.  He raised haunted eyes to stare at the gradually visible and extremely furious Osamu Ichijouji.  The boy's glasses flashed cruelly in the dim light.  Gennai flinched and looked away.  "I . . ." He licked his lips nervously.  "Ho—how much did you see?"

"Enough."  The firstborn Ichijouji's mouth contorted in disgust and contempt.  "More than enough."  He glared at the traveler, rage and betrayal bleeding into the very air around him.  "We don't have the time for you to have second thoughts, traveler.  I suggest you choose sides—_now_.  Before they're chosen for you."

A voice suddenly blasted through the loudspeakers, startling them both.  "Everyone, this is TK!  You've gotta come to the control room right now!  Something is really, really wrong with Ken!"

A look of pure panic flashed across Osamu's face, swiftly followed by horrified comprehension, and he swore, shocking the traveler.  _Damn, him!!!  What did he do to him?!   _It was obvious that he wasn't damning Ken, so who was he talking about?  Before he could ask, the specter vanished.

A sudden wave of shame and nausea hit Gennai and he raised both of his hands and covered his face.  He slid to the floor in a boneless heap and images danced across the back of his eyelids_.  Ken . . . Anya . . . I'm so sorry._  He remembered the last battle against Millenniumon—the look of shock and pain and fear on Ken's face when the spore had hit him.  The same look had been on Anya's face when her own digimon had turned on her and killed her.  He shook his head to banish the images, but they kept coming.

_Ken's blue eyes looked up in horror as something flew towards Ryou.  He leapt forward.  "Look out!  Aagh!" . . . Anya's blue eyes looked down in horror as her Digi Tomamon whirled to face her, tears flowing out of his shell.  "I love you, Anya," he whispered.**  "Nightmare Syndroma!!"**  . . .  "My _name_ is the **Digimon Emperor**!!!"  . . .  "You idiots think that you can stop me?!  I am Anya and this world is **mine**!!!" . . .  "I will make you all my slaves!"  . . .  "You will serve the Dark Master or you will die!"  . . .  "Where's the kind and gentle Ken I used to love?" . . . "I love you Anya."_

Gennai moaned and slammed his head hard against the wall behind him.  _I'm sorry.  I'm so, so sorry . . . _

_Kimeramon exploded in a flash of light.   . . .  Anya screamed as a wave of darkness overtook her.  . . .  Ken collapsed on the ground, sobbing hysterically.   . . .  Black fire licked at Anya's body and the scent of burnt flesh filled the air._

Gennai trembled.  "I'm sorry . . ."

TK's voice crackled out of the loudspeaker.  "Gennai, where are you?!  Ken needs you!"

_Ken . . ._ The traveler pushed himself to his feet and stepped towards the control room with lurching steps.  _Ken needs me._  A sudden sense of urgency and duty filled the young man.  _Ken needs me._  He began to run.  _Ken . . . _

An eternity later, or so it seemed to him, Gennai burst into the control room.  He started and froze as the children all stared at him in shock and he tried to get his bearings.  The control room was big, dark, and just a generally creepy place to be.  The walls were all covered in thick shadows and were mounted with dozens of television screens, all ranging from tiny to enormous.   The darkness of the walls and TV mounts made it look as though they were floating in mid air.  The only other object in the room was an extremely modern, if Spartan-like, black throne set in the exact center of the room.  The only light in the chamber shone down directly on that throne, giving the rather disturbing impression that the chair's occupant was the sole source of light other than the monitors.  That occupant was currently Ken Ichijouji.

Takeru was kneeling on the floor just below the small dais upon which the throne sat with one hand on the arm of said throne.  The other children were arrayed behind him, unsure of what to do.  Osamu floated above and behind his brother, looking pale and frantic.  Gennai pushed past the children and ignored the ghost as he came to stand directly in front of Ken.  

Wormmon looked up at his the traveler from his place by his boy's feet with large frightened eyes.  "What's happened to Ken-chan?"

Gennai studied Ken for a moment.  The boy was sitting in the throne in a slight slouch with his head dropped down on to his chest.  One arm was curled up in his lap where Wormmon had presumably been, and the other was cast almost carelessly across the arm of the chair.  The normal lines of anger and bitterness had faded, allowing the traveler to appreciate how truly young the child actually was.  The thing that was most interesting, however, was the fact that he was all in black and white.  Not just black and white, but truly _black and white_—like an old television image or photograph.  His body also appeared to flicker from time to time, like television static—no, not flicker . . . phase.

Gennai stared as the truth dawned upon him.  He had head of it, was aware of it . . . but he had never actually seen it.  "He's stumbled into a phase warp," the traveler breathed.

TK looked up at him, fear evident in his eyes if not his voice.  "What do we do?"

Gennai stared at Ken.  "Hope."

**************

**A/N**: I HAVE CHANGED KEN'S LULLABYE FROM "DISARM" TO "CROSSROADS."  DISARM DIDN'T FIT FOR WHAT I WANTED TO DO.  I HAVE NO IDEA WHICH CHAPTER THE CHANGE HAS APPEARED IN HERE ON FF.NET, BUT I WILL EVENTUALLY GO BACK AND EDIT IT SO THAT THE SONG IS THE SAME IN THE END AND BEGINNING OF THE FIC.  PLEASE DO NOT BE CONFUSED BY THE CHANGE IN LYRICS.

**************

The air was stagnant and smelled faintly like something was rotting.  A slight breeze blew, but it offered no relief and did little more than move his hair.  He flipped his long indigo locks out of his eyes, but they stubbornly fell back into his face.  He ignored them.

_Where am I?_

He hadn't asked aloud, but the thought seemed to echo with an unsettling lack of finality.  He turned around in a full circle.

_The beach,_ he thought.  It seemed to be almost sacrilegious to speak and break the trembling silence.  _I'm at the Dark Ocean . . .   _

Somehow, he did not find that to be the least bit disturbing.

Behind him rose black, jagged cliffs that stabbed the sky with a harsh, unforgiving outline.  In front of him, dark, almost tar-like waves lapped hungrily at the shore.  The sky was the same color as the ocean, giving him the dizzying sensation of there being no sky at all, merely an infinite ocean.  _Wormmon?_ he projected the thought.  _Yagami?  Anyone . . .?_

The boy started as something wet and impossibly cold wrapped around his ankles and he looked down.  The tide was rising and the water had flowed up to grip at his legs.  He stared at for a moment in something that was like clinical horror.  It wasn't normal water.  It was a thick, almost viscose fluid that moved like oil and clung to him like melted rubber.  It was colder than ice—so cold it almost burned.  The sensation bit through his pant legs and into his flesh, infiltrating his body down to the very marrow of his bones.  

_"This is **mine** now!  And no one can take it from me or hide it in a drawer!"_

"What?"  Ken's head snapped up to regard a small child kneeling in the water and clutching small something to him greedily.  At the sound of his voice the little boy turned to glare at him defensively.  Ken took a step back in surprise and the child bared his teeth at him and growled like a wild animal.  Then he faded into nothingness.

Ken stared in shock where the child had been.  _Those eyes_ . . . blue when they were happy, deep purple for anger . . . As far as Ken knew there were only two people in the world with eyes like that and one of them was dead.  That left . . . "Me?  That was me?" 

A sudden sense of urgency overtook the boy and, working on instincts he hadn't known himself to possess, he turned to the West, placing the cliffs to his left.  He walked at first, but it gradually turned into a run as the need to be somewhere grew into something that was close to a full-blown panic attack.  His breath came in quick, jarring gasps as his long legs carried him towards his unknown objective.  He stopped short when he heard the singing.

_"Do you remember who I was? / Can you still feel it?"_

It was a child's voice singing, reedy, alto, and slightly shrill.

_"Can you find my pain? / Can you heal it?"_

Ken recognized it instantly, the way one recognizes one's own voice from long ago by hearing the inflection and intonation.  

_"Then lay your hands upon me now / and cast this darkness from my soul."_

The boy was dresses in kaki shorts and a lilac t-shirt with blue trim going around the sleeves.  His back was turned and he was using the ash-like sand to build a sand castle.  He was sitting, however, within the reach of the rising waves and the water was continually washing up and knocking down the edifice.  Long-ish indigo hair fell smoothly and curled slightly up towards the edges of his face. 

_"You alone can light my way. / You alone can make me whole / once again."_

Ken approached him cautiously, trying to relax his breathing and still his heart.  The child stopped singing.

"I've been waiting for you," he called softly without turning.

Ken froze.  It took a moment before he remembered to speak.  "Why?'

He could almost hear the boy's shrug in his voice.  "Won't you approach?"

Ken didn't move.  He knew that he should—that it was expected of him—but every instinct in his body was screaming at him to turn around and walk away.  "I . . ."

The youngster's patience instantly evaporated.  "I've been waiting a long time!" the he exclaimed in anger.  The child still didn't turn around, but his voice became shriller with the intensity of his emotions.  "You were not true!  You did not come!  And now we are running out of time."

"Who are you?"

"What you were."  Suddenly, the child stood, leaving his sandcastle to be wrecked anew by the water.  The little boy turned around to glare fiercely at his older counterpart.  "I am inconsequential now.  The question you should be asking is: what are _you_?"

Ken looked back, afraid.  "I am who I am."

"No.  Yours is a separate path."  The little one shook his head, hair shifting slightly.  His child's voice dropped to a whisper.  "You are an abomination."

Ken stiffened as though he had been struck.  Then he advanced on his former self, unconsciously bringing to bear all the mannerisms and menace of the Digimon Emperor.  "What are you?" he hissed. 

The younger Ken was not impressed.  "What you were!  What should be!  What you killed!  I was the Kaiser's alternative.  I was the one who should have been, not him!  Not you!"

"Did you just bring me here to talk in riddles?"

An extremely unpleasant and out of place look of contemptuous disgust twisted the tiny boy's features.  "These aren't riddles," he snapped.  "These are the truths that you have discarded and thrown away.  These are the memories that you cast asi—"

"Memories that were stolen from me by that damnable traveler!" Ken interrupted, furious.

"No!" the little boy countered.  "Gennai can tell you nothing of your past that is not there for you to discover yourself.  Do you think that he has the keys to your past and future?  He does not!  Those lay within yourself and no one else!"

" 'Within myself,' " the former dictator mocked, pulling back sharply and putting his hands on his hips.  " 'Within myself' . . . There is _nothing_ within me!  _I am empty!_"

A pair of small violet eyes narrowed and glared up at another pair of violet eyes.  "Then you will die."

The two stood like that for a moment, neither willing to break the gaze.  Then Ken blinked.  He looked down at his smaller counterpart with lackluster eyes and his voice was a whisper half drowned by the thick waves.  "Then so be it."

He turned to go.

"Wait!"  A tiny hand wrapped around his wrist like a vice.  "Please don't leave me alone again."

He turned and looked down at the child—at himself.  "I have to go now, Ken."

"No," the child pleaded with a slight shake of his head.  "You made me angry.  We still haven't gotten the balance right, you see.  But now, there is something that I must show you—must make you understand."  He tugged on the older boy's wrist.  "Come with me."

For the briefest instant, Ken entertained the idea of hurling that tiny child away from him into the black waves and walking away.  Instead, he only shrugged.  "Very well."

Little Ken released his grip on the elder's wrist and threaded his chubby little fingers through Ken's long slender ones.  He began to walk into the Ocean.  

The older Ken resisted.  "Ken, I don't think that—"

"It's okay," a reedy voice responded.  "A part of you belongs here.  The Ocean never forgets what belongs to it.  You can always come home again here."

Ken opened his mouth to protest once more, but the words died on his lips.  The water was _rising_.  The water level was not getting higher; the water was actually physically rising to form an enormous black wall that stretched from side to side as far as the eye could see.  The former Emperor balked.

"We have to hurry now," the child chided the elder Ken for his reluctance.  "You have nothing to fear so long as we don't call _His_ attention down upon us.  But we have wasted a lot of time already."

"But who—"

The little boy tugged at his hand impatiently, not seeming to understand his older version's hesitation.

Ken's voice sounded like the waves.  "What is this . . .?"

"Everything you need."  Startlingly blue eyes looked up into haunted purple ones.  "This is what you are seeking."

The boy stepped through the wall, pulling Ken along behind him.  The genius gasped when he passed under the through the thick liquid.  He was burning.  He was bleeding.  He was breaking.  He was screaming.  He was . . .

. . . Standing in a white room.

"What the—"

"Silly!"  Somehow little Ken was now standing about two feet away and laughing at him.  "What did you think would happen?"

"I—" Ken turned around all he could see was white.  "I—what is this?  This makes no sense!"

"Well, it's _your_ mind!" the child retorted peevishly.  "It's not _my_ fault you're a raging lunatic."

"I am not a—" The indigo haired youth broke off with a sigh and pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes.  "This isn't real . . . this is only a dream—a nightmare."

"But what if it was real, Kenny-boy?"

Ken stiffened.  He slowly opened his eyes to gaze in disbelief at the figure of a boy with wild auburn hair and laughing green eyes standing behind his double.  A slight moan slipped out from between Ken's lips.

"Reality is only as we perceive it, remember?" the new youth continued, waving one white-gloved hand in front of him to illustrate his words.  "You proved that by what you did in the Digital World."

The child Ken assumed an air of wisdom and nodded, bobbing his head up and down like a dashboard ornament.

Ken stared.  "Ryou?"

Ryou gave Ken one of his trademark half smiles and stepped off to the side.  Osamu was standing behind him.

Ken groaned and his knees gave way beneath him.  "No . . ."

Osamu placed his hands on little Ken's shoulders and stood expressionlessly behind the dream image of his little brother.  Still smiling, Ryou took the dream child's hand into his own and stood by his side, a little bit in front of the eldest Ichijouji.  

Suddenly, everything seemed surrealistic—hazy.  It was getting difficult to breathe . . .

When Ryou had first convinced Osamu to let Ken battle in the Digital World, the day Ken left the three boys had posed for a picture.  It looked exactly like the image that greeted Ken's eyes now.

He pushed himself to his feet shakily.  The back of his neck throbbed fiercely.  The room was spinning.  He felt terribly nauseous.

Osamu silently lifted his right fist straight out and turned the fist over.  He opened his fingers.  Standing perfectly upright on the original genius's hand was a brown oval egg.  

Ken's voice caught in his throat.  "Whu—"

"Take it," Ryou urged him.

"Yes," chimed in little Ken.  "It's yours now."  Nothing had moved but their lips.

Hesitant steps took him toward his Oniisan.  He gingerly lifted the egg off of Osamu's palm.  "I—Oniisan, I don't understand."

A swift look of pity distorted his brother's face.  He shook his head and, replacing his hand on little Ken's shoulder, closed his eyes in a slow, sad blink.

Ken cradled the egg in his palm like it was something precious and looked at him pleadingly.  "Oniisan?  What is this?"   Osamu remained still.  "Ryou?"  He turned his wide blue-violet eyes to the child.  "Ken?"  

Nothing.

"I don't understand what you want me to do.  What is this?"

They did not move.

"Answer me!  Why do you just stand there?  Stop staring at me!  I don't know what you want!"

There was still no reaction and Ken took a menacing step forward.  He clutched the egg in his fist.  "Why do you all keep haunting me?  Leave me alone!"

Tears were sliding down Osamu's cheeks and the back of Ken's neck was throbbing terribly now, heat running through his limbs.  He stared into his brother's liquid eyes and felt something deep inside him snap.  "Damn you!" he snarled.  "Damn you, damn you, damn you forever!!"  He raised the hand holding the egg.  **_"The dead stay dead!!!!"_**

The egg went flying through the air with more than enough force to slam into the wall, but instead in merely hit the floor roughly a meter from the dream images and rolled to a quiet and anticlimactic stop, perfectly intact.  Osamu looked down at the egg, tears streaming down his cheeks, and then looked back up at his brother.  Ken was panting.

Then a small, nearly invisible, crack appeared on Osamu's forehead.  Ken's eyes widened in horror as the crack began to grow and cause other cracks that in turn spread to little Ken and Ryou.  Two trembling hand flew up to cover Ken's mouth, barely stifling the moan lodged in his throat.

"Nononononononono—"

It was fine china.  It was like watching that egg he had thrown break in slow motion.  But the egg hadn't broken—the people had.  There came the small sound that pottery makes as it hits the floor and the three figures began to collapsed in on themselves.  Then Little Ken, Ryou, and Osamu were only a pile of multicolored shards.

A choking noise staggered out of Ken's throat and he took a single step backwards.  The egg, of its own volition, began to roll towards him.  It came to rest a foot in front of his feet.

This wasn't real.  This was a dream.  There wasn't really a room here.  There wasn't—

Pain exploded behind Ken's eyes, a heat coming from his neck and upper back and spreading to attack every limb.  The pale boy fell to the ground trembling, his hands clawing desperately at his uniform.Pressure built up, making him feel like he was going to explode and be crushed all at once.

_I'm going to die._

Blackness over took him.

_Oh, God, please . . . _

Then it was over.  There came a sound of ceramic shifting—like many bricks being rubbed and shifted together.  The shards were moving—rebuilding themselves.  The boy shuddered.  He knew without looking whom they were building themselves into.

"Get up."

Ken raised his head and squeezed his eyes shut against the overly bright light.  He trembled, shocked, terrified, and confused.  A shadow fell across the darkness behind his lids.  The indigo haired youth shivered and shied back, disoriented.  He opened his mouth to speak and gagged.  A strong hand thumped him twice on the back and Ken's stomach rebelled.  He leaned over and retched, body trembling as he vomited up something thick, salty, sour, and stale—it was the Ocean water.

The hand that had thumped him rubbed his back soothingly and words were whispered that he couldn't hear.

Ken tried to raise his head.  "Where—"

A wave of dry heaves overtook him.  

"Don't fight it," that hideously familiar voice counseled.  

Ken tried to pull away from him, but the hand rubbing his back moved and grabbed his hair and forced his head down.  "Just wait for it."

Ken held still.  Then, something moved along his spine.  Pain flared in the back of his neck and shot down his limbs.  It was exactly the same thing that had happened to him that afternoon when the Portal had opened, but now the pain was much, much worse.  The boy genius gagged.  "Oh, _God . . ._" His stomach heaved again violently and for a moment it felt like his body was turning itself inside out.  

"Stop," the familiar voice ordered coolly.  

The pain stopped.  Ken laid still, head still bowed to the ground.  He didn't look up—what was the point?  He already knew whom he'd find there.  

Heavy footfalls bounced cruelly off of the walk and a pair of black boots entered the boy's field of vision.  "Get up," the Digimon Emperor ordered once more.  

Ken shivered as chills went through his body.  _Why do these things always happen to me?  _

_Because you deserve it,_ his conscience replied cheerfully.

_Shut up._

_Well, you asked._

_Shut.  Up._

"Come, come, now, we're nearly out of time," the Emperor prodded again.

Ken raised his head slowly and glared at his double.  "Quema en inferno."

The Emperor cuffed him sharply.  "Get up," he ordered again without malice.  

Ken pulled himself wearily to his feet.  He looked his double in the eyes and felt a flash of irritation at the sight of the Emperor's ever-present glasses.  The eyes behind those indigo lenses regarded him calmly.

"Where am I?" the boy asked.

The Emperor shrugged.  "Here.  It's not all that important, really.  But there is something that you have to see before He turns His eyes to you."

" 'He?' " 

The despot nodded.  "The Dark Undersea Master.  Take this.  It's yours by right now," the other Ichijouji informed him as he shoved the egg into Ken's hand.

The Child of Kindness frowned and stared at it blankly for a moment.  He briefly toyed with the idea of hurling it away, but was suddenly afraid that he too would break.  He closed his fist over it and instantly felt all his fears and misgivings melt away.  In fact, every emotion was gone except vague curiosity.  _Odd . . ._ He shrugged, brushing the thought off, and moved to catch up with the other boy.  The two of them were then walking down a long hall.  "Why does he want me?"

"Because you are like him."  The Emperor looked over at the boy.  "You don't see it yet, do you?  Everyone wants you.  You were an error.  They hadn't counted on you being so strong, you know."

"I don't understand."

"Yes, you do, Ken.  But you hide the truth from yourself.  That is why I was necessary."

Ken frowned over at the Emperor.  It suddenly occurred to him that he should find this entire sequence of events extraordinarily unnatural and illogical, but he didn't.  It seemed to makes sense that he be doing this and that things had worked out the way that they had.  Never mind the fact that this was all beyond bizarre, it was necessary.  Ken accepted that without hesitation.  "We are the same," he told his double. 

"No," the Emperor shook his head.  "There is no we, there is only you now.  I am merely a suit of clothing, nothing more.  You are the same."

Ken thought this over for a moment.  "He said that I was an abomination."

"You are.  But he is jealous."

"Why?"

"Because he has been forgotten and discarded.  Because you think he is no longer necessary."

"Is he?"

"Yes."

"Are you?"

"We are the same.  Are you necessary?"

" . . ." Ken turned away from the other's hidden eyes and instead tried to study the hallway they were walking in.  Try as he may, though, his mind couldn't seem to latch onto a single solid feature about the hallway.  Colors, shapes, light, and shadows all slid through his mind like oil, but he was unable to store them into his memory or even view them long or well enough to identify them.  "Where are we?"

His double shrugged, the long cape he wore shifting slightly with the motion.  "This is a special place."

"How so?"

"This is where things come to be forgotten."  The Emperor looked over at him almost curiously.  "You know that you are different, don't you?  That's why you can't understand them."

"I know."

"Yours is a separate path."  Abruptly the Emperor stopped and pointed to a door on their left.  "There.  This is it."

"What is it?"

"Destiny."

Ken looked at his double in confusion.

The other boy merely shrugged again.  "I can go no farther with you.  This is your destiny and I am not anything but you really."

The Chosen Child eyed the doorknob speculatively for a moment.  It was round and shiny, a large brass affair with an odd etched into place instead of a lock.  It looked like an inverted Crest of Kindness.  After a moment, Ken extended his hand and grasped the knob.  It was red hot.  It didn't hurt really, but it wasn't the most pleasant sensation either.  He wanted to pull back, but he could feel the Emperor's eyes on him, so he gripped the knob and pushed open the door.

The room was empty.

**************

TK stood and peered into Ken's flickering face as though he could keep the other boy in reality merely by that gesture alone.  He did not look at Gennai as he spoke.  "Hope?"

From her place behind Kari's legs Gatomon frowned at the purple-haired boy in the throne.  "Why is his soul so eager to leave him?"

"What?"  Davis eyed the little Champion curiously.  "What do you mean?"

The cat-like digimon shrugged and left her place to come stand next to Wormmon.  The insect turned his doleful eyes to her.  Gatomon ignored him.  "People who shift into other dimensions normally do so because they have nothing to hold them in their own dimension."

Wormmon looked like he was going to cry.

A sudden intake of breath startled them all and Ken lurched upward, nearly falling on top of TK as his eyes snapped open.  Acting on instinct, the blond reached out and caught the slender boy up in his arms before he could tumble to the floor.  Violent tremors shook the Ken and his eyes were wide, unfocused and without recognition.

"Empty . . ." he murmured through blue tinged lips, "It's all empty . . ."

Takeru shook the boy slightly.  "Ken?  Ken, wake up!"

Violet eyes flickered, and then blinked and a hazy recognition settled in them.  "Takeru . . .?"

The shorter boy nodded and, with Gennai and Davis's help, jerked Ken to his feet.  A shaking hand hid the boy's face and his indigo hair tumbled into his eyes.  

"Ken-chan?"  Wormmon's pods clicked softly as he approached the boy.  He peered down at his digimon through a crack between his fingers.  "Ken-chan, are you alright?"

The youth bent down and lifted the caterpillar up.  When he stood, his eyes were flat and expressionless.  "I'm fine."  His free hand, now stilled, gently stroked Wormmon head, eliciting an odd purring noise from the tiny creature.

"You phased," Gennai reported, still eyeing the boy curiously.

Ken raked his eyes over him, noting that Gennai's pupils were dilated, his face flushed and sweaty, and his breathing was uneven_.  Now this certainly is interesting . . ._  "Really?" he drawled.

"What did you see?" demanded Kari.

"I . . ." a black expression transformed Ken's face.  "I . . . I . . . don't know . . ."

Cody cocked his head to the side, but Armadillomon spoke for him.  "Well, that just don't make any sense."

Ken's attention suddenly focused on the tawny digimon with awful intensity.  "I—"

_"Analysis complete."_

Ken walked through the Digidestined as though he was going to walk over them and they parted quickly to avoid him.  He touched another seemingly invisible console and punches a few buttons.  New charts and graphs filled the monitors screens.  Ken ground his teeth at the sight of them.

Gennai's voice floated up from behind him.  "Problem?"  

Wormmon shifted in his arm, lamenting the loss of Ken's petting.  His large blue eyes absorbed the data on the screen for a moment before he saw what had displeased his boy.  The monitors still read 74%.  He frowned in his own way as he reviewed the numbers.  There really should be more power available than that . . . then it occurred to him.

"The spirals and spires."

"What?"  Ken looked down at the little green virus.  "What are you talking about?"

Wormmon stifled a yawn.  "The Dark Rings and Spirals are still classified as Primary Systems."

"Earth to Ken!" interrupted Yolei.  "What's up with you?"

He ignored her and began punching buttons again.

_"Reroute command entered,"_ the computer informed him helpfully_.  "Warning: This is a Code Red Procedure. Input authorization codes in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6—" _Ken did some more typing.  _"Authorization acknowledged. Warning: Transferring power from these systems will deactivate all Dark Rings and Spirals.   Power transferring.  Dark Ring power levels 92% 85% 43%27%13% 2% Power rerouted.   Dark Spiral power levels 76% 59% 31% 18% 7% 0 Power rerouted."_

The graphs began to climb.  74% 77% 82% 85% 90%.

_"Power levels stabilized at 92%"_ the computer reported.

Ken hit a few buttons and turned around to frown at Gennai.  "You've got your ride, traveler."

Auburn hair swung slightly as he nodded.  "The coordinates are—"

"I set them already."

"Oh?" Gennai lifted an eyebrow unconsciously.  "And how would you know to do that?"

A smirk.  "Just how many holes are there in the Digital World that lead to the Dark Ocean?"  The smirk abruptly vanished.  "I kept my end of the bargain up, now you have to keep yours."

The traveler's shoulders sagged visibly, but he nodded.  "Where?"

Ken looked at the others for a moment, considering.  "I need to tie some things up here.  I'll meet you in the observation deck in five?"

He turned back to his monitors.  

Davis frowned and opened his mouth, but Veemon stepped on his foot.  Gennai cast the little dragon a grateful glance and gestured towards the door.  The Children all filed out silently.  It was only after they were gone that Ken slumped forward and pressed his forehead against the monitor in front of him.  Wormmon twisted around to frown at his face and the boy closed his eyes.  

_Gennai_ . . . He had thought—hoped—that the mysterious traveler would hold the key to his missing past, but now . . . 

The dream was still with him, but it was hazy . . . vague.  He couldn't recall the end at all—another loss for him.

_ "Gennai can tell you nothing of your past that is not there for you to discover yourself.  Do you think that he has the keys to your past and future?  He does not!  Those lay within yourself and no one else!"                                                            . . ._

_" 'Within myself.  Within myself' . . . There is _nothing_ within me!  _I am empty!_"  . . .  "Then you will die."_

_   . . .  "Then so be it."_

Wormmon watched his boy's face worriedly.  "Ken-chan . . .?" he ventured.

The boy straightened and opened his eyes.  He hugged the digimon and rocked back and forth a bit.  "Yeah, Wormmon?"

"Did you have a bad dream, Ken-chan?"

"No.  No . . ." Something was wrong.  A frown marred his face as his raised his hand to the light to look at it.  The palm felt . . . tingly . . .?  Violet eyes widened as he stared down at his hand.  There was a small emblem branded into the palm: an odd M-like design . . .

Wormmon twisted in his arm to try and see why his human was staring at his hand and his face had gone so very pale.  "Ken?  Ken, did you hurt yourself?"

The boy lowered his hand and rubbed Wormmon's head gently.  He closed his eyes and tilted his head back a bit.  "I had . . . I . . . Hmph.  I think I had an epiphany, that's all.  It's nothing, really.  Nothing at all."

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	30. The Ninth Digidestined Child

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain** (Vainglorious696) ****

**__________________________________________________________**

**Vain**: Yay!!  This is it!  This is THE chapter.  This is my Baby!!  My brainchild! 

**Hisoka**: You do realize that you never fixed some of the timeline stuff with the information Ajora sent you, don't you?  Some of it is wrong.

**Vain**: Shut-up and roll with it, Soka-chan!  I'm gonna fix it in the sequels.

**Hisoka**: *twitches*  Don't.  Call.  Me.  That.

**Remy**: Sequels?  Il y avait more dan one?!?!?!?!  I'm _dead_ in WSIWTG and you're planning a _Digimon_ _Arch_?!

**Vain**: You're not REALLY dead . . . and I'll update it tonight . . . I hope . . .

**Tsuzuki**: *walks in with a piece of apple pie*  Hisoka and I have a date tonight?  I didn't know that.  Do we have a date tonight, Soka-chan?

**Hisoka**: *blushes bright red*  DON'T CALL ME THAT, BAKA!!!

**Kaiser**:  There's MORE of them?!?!?!?!?!?!?!  Who the hell are YOU?!

**Tsuzuki**:  Tsuzuki Asota.

**Osamu**: Should we tell Kai about Watari?  He's still not here.

**Ken**:  No.  I think Vain prefers all her body parts attached . . .

**Wormmon**: Oh, dear . . . This is getting very, very complicated.

**Remy**:  What 'bout my two fics!!  Finish "What Someone is Willing To Give" and "Poker—No Bluffs!"

**Kaiser**:  The hell she will!  She has to finish this story, then the rest of the Arch, then "These Fine Things of Heaven and Earth," then she has to do a sequel for somebody else's Daiken!!

**Watari**: *enters grinning and flips his long blond hair over his shoulder*  She also has to do Shattered Emeralds, isn't that right, Vain-chan?

**Osamu**:  But what about all your classes?  You're a college student first.

**Hisoka**: When will you be updating Ouldove?  You know, your website.  Forget about that?

**Vain**: *sweatdrops and facefaults*

**Tsuzuki**:  Is she dead?

**Watari**: Not yet.  I hope.  She hasn't finished our fic yet.

**Sinister**: *walks in and anesthetizes Vain*  Vain doesn't own anything.  Read and Review. 

**Ken**:  Please. 

**Vain**: *whimpers*  Help me . . . 

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**_~ "The lamp of the body is the eye.  _**

**_If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  _**

**_But if your eye is full of darkness, your whole body will be full of darkness.  _**

**_If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"_****__**

**-Matthew 6: 22 & 23**

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**Part Twenty-Nine**

**The Ninth Digidestined Child******

"Alright, will someone _PLEASE_ tell me what's going on?!"

Takeru frowned as he looked through the enormous window.  It was night now.  Amazing how quickly time passed when you couldn't see the windows.  It was hard to believe that it had only been eight or nine hours since they got out of school.  That meant about seven hours since they had gotten sucked through the Digiport.  How long had they slept?  Twenty minutes?  An hour?  It seemed like years.  Time always felt slightly skewed in the Digital World.

The ship was moving now, slowly to be sure, but it was gradually picking up speed.  Next to him, Yolei looked like she was about to pop a vein.

"Stop _ignoring_ me!   What was that all about?!"

Takeru continued to stare out the window.  He shrugged.  "Something's changed," he responded.  His blue eyes flickered over to Gennai.  Amazing, the things that can happen in the space of a half an hour.  "Maybe everything's changed."

"He knows something we don't," Cody murmured.

Takeru's brows contracted.  Was he talking about Gennai, too?  Or was he still harping on the whole Ken issue?  The blond turned around to face the others and looked at Cody curiously.

The emerald-eyed Child of Reliability was frowning at the floor.  "That dream was more than a dream . . . Something happened to him—he's found something, I think."

"We can't trust him!" Yolei declared firmly.

Takeru closed his eyes and felt his boundless temper surge briefly.  Hadn't they already hashed this out?  He didn't have to open his eyes to see the dark look on Davis's face: he could _feel_ it.  Maybe it was on his own face, too.

"That isn't what I meant, Yolei!"

The Child of Hope's eyes opened and his head whipped down so fast he thought that he had given himself whiplash.  He wasn't the only one to be surprised by Cody's sudden and vehement defense of Ken either.  Everyone was staring—including Armadillomon.

Takeru walked over and placed a gentle hand on the little boy's shoulder.  "Are you okay, Cody?"

The youth shrugged away TK's hand.  "That isn't what I meant," he repeated softly.  "I'm just saying that something was different with Ken when he woke, that's all.  I didn't mean anything but that."

Gennai shifted from his position next to the door.  "I think you may be right, Cody, but if Ken Ichijouji doesn't want you to know something, then you may as well give it up.  Believe me, he's never taken well to prying."

Yolei instantly latched onto that statement.  "And just what makes you an expert on Ken?"

For a moment the traveler regarded her in cool silence then his lips twisted in a dry, almost Emperor-like, smirk.  "Experience."  He shrugged.  "You'll find out soon enough."

The door slid open and Ken strode in so confidently it looked as though he owned the place—which he actually did.  He walked straight across the room to the night-blackened window and sat down Indian-style on the floor.  He looked up at them all, eyes violet ice.  The Digidestined took the hint and all sat down, forming a loose circle.  Whatever was up with Child of Kindness, nobody has any intention of annoying him.  Wormmon slid down from his boy's shoulder to curl up in his lap.

Gennai looked away from them for a moment, eyes vague and looking within himself_.  Time to pay the piper . . ._ He let loose a heavy sigh and turned to Ken.  "Well, then . . . I suppose you want those answers now."

The boy only watched him expectantly.  

The traveler looked down and walked towards the center of the circle as he began his tale.  "I guess I should start at the beginning.  There are four Mega digimon who guard the Digital World.  They each have two spheres: Qinglongmon (or Azulongmon) the air dragon and guardian of the East, protects the spheres of Light and Hope; Xuanwumon the earth tortoise and guardian of the North, protects the spheres of Love and Purity; Zhuqiaomon the firebird and guardian of the South, protects the spheres of Faith and Knowledge; Baihumon the water tiger and guardian of the West, protects the spheres of Courage and Friendship. There were also four guardians of the Digidestined."

Cody frowned thoughtfully.  "Were?"

Gennai nodded.  "Yes.  There was my predecessor who was named Kazunori Saito, Elaine Barre, Denisov Romanovich, and Sanghee Kiangtzu.  One of them died, one was relieved, and two . . . defected."

Cody opened his mouth again, but Gennai overrode him.  "But this doesn't really have anything to do with what we're hear to discuss."

"Then what does?" TK asked without venom. 

Gennai frowned a moment, but continued.  "As I was saying, there were originally Eight Spheres: Hope and Light, Courage and Friendship, Love and Purity (now called Sincerity), and Knowledge and Reliability, also called Faith.  Spirit, Loyalty, Joy, Truth, Wisdom: these are all considered to be lesser Crests and all fall under one or more of the Eight original Spheres.  They're not lesser because they are less powerful, but merely because they are not direct representatives of a Sphere."

"What do you mean?"  Gatomon frowned up at Gennai from her position in Kari's lap.  "I've never heard of that."

"Yeah," Patamon chimed from TK's lap.

"Well . . . take the Crest of Peace for example.  The Crest of Peace derives its energy from the same source as the Crest of Hope: the Sphere of Hope.  The Crest of Hope is the pure form of that energy.  It doesn't lend any energy to the sub-Crests, but it acts as a gauge for the energy.  Therefore, if by some odd occurrence the Crest of Peace is extinguished, the Crest of Hope will remain intact.  But if the light of the Crest of Hope is extinguished it means that the Sphere of Hope itself has failed and therefore all of its sub-Crests will also be extinguished.   Do you understand?"

There were scattered nods and the young man continued.  "The Guardians all have the same goal, but their methods differ a great deal.  At times the discord between them could reach frightening heights.  It was feared that one of the Guardians might seize power over the others, so it was decided to concentrate a portion of all of the Spheres into one.  This became the Ninth Sphere: the Sphere of Miracles.

"The Sphere of Miracles is unique in that it is unaligned with any of the powers of the Digital World.  For all intents and purposes, it is a neutral Power.  This brought balance to the Guardian Beasts, but there were also some unintended side effects.  The Ninth Crest has no sub-Crests and draws its power from the actual Powers of the Digital World itself.  There are only two other Crests that do that: Light and Hope.  All of the other Crests derive their power from the dominant Traits of the bearer.  The Children of Light and Miracles are special in that they have the ability to sense, perceive, and to a point, navigate a dimension referred to as 'limbo.'  This allows them to tap into other dimensions and manipulate their own realities in ways that the average person cannot.  In your world, this ability has been know to manifest itself as savants, pyrokinesis, telepathy, telekinesis, empathy, and in extreme cases, certain forms of autism.  Actually, autism occurs when the larger part of a person's mind remains in limbo while their soul migrates to the their body.

"Kari," here he nodded to the Child of Light, "has been blessed with the ability to see and channel spirits.  Undoubtedly she also has other latent gifts of which I am unaware." 

The girl blushed and ducked her head as the others looked at her in surprise.  Gennai continued, still gesticulating vividly as he paced.  "Hope, however, despite its nature, does not have any particular ability of this sort.  The Child of Hope has always acted as a type of grounder for the Children of Light and Miracles.  Due to their ability to sense the shifting currents of other dimensions, Light and Miracles are more prone to the lure of Darkness and more likely to either be pulled or subconsciously will themselves to some of the more local dimensions."

As he walked, the speaker would occasionally cast a wary glance at Ken.  When his eyes slid to the child now, he found him scowling at the ground.  In his arms, Wormmon had twisted around to regard his partner with worried eyes.  Gennai looked away.  "Together these three Crests created what is called the Scared Triangle.  The Triangle is capable of generating massive amounts of energy—the presence of the neutral Ninth Crest and the Anti-Crests make it possible for that power to be used by anyone for whom the three Children will unite to fight for.  I'll explain Anti-Crests in a minute.  

"The Digidestined were called into the world originally to fight a great evil that arose between the Earth and the Digital World.  Nine original Crests were created to channel the energy of the Nine Spheres: the Crests of Light, Hope, Miracles, Love, Faith, Sincerity, Courage, Friendship, and Knowledge."

TK looked up in surprise.  "Those are our Crests!"

Gennai shot him a look but nodded reluctantly.  "I know.  I'm getting to that.  You see, the original Digidestined were chosen from all over the world.  The Child of Love was African, the Child of Hope was Vietnamese, the Child of Courage was English, the Child of Friendship was American, the Child of Light was Japanese, the Child of Faith was French, the Child of Miracles was Russian, the Child of Sincerity was Australian, and I believe that the Child of Knowledge was Chinese.  There were no lesser Crests in those days.  Never before have all of the main Crests been issued to Children from one single country, let alone from children who all live in the same general neighborhood.  Your predecessors, Tai and the others, were the first—I thought it a fluke until you came along."

Davis and Veemon made a small noise, but Yolei quickly hushed them before turning back to Gennai.  Oblivious to the movement, he continued.  "The first nine were brought to the Digital World to fight the Dark One and to do this they were given partners and, according to their dominant personality traits, Crests.  Remember," he wagged a finger at them as he turned in a circle, "this was the first time Crests were released and nobody really knew what was going to happen.  The Guardians cannot control or foresee Destiny, they only can try to direct present actions and manipulate them to affect future actions."

Ken snorted.

"We discovered during the fight that the Crests also carried within them an Anti-Crest property.  Thus, Love also carried Hate; Knowledge, Ignorance; Hope, Despair; Light, Darkness, and so forth.  We really should have foreseen this, though.  It was all an issue of balance: the day cannot exist without the night.  The Crest of Miracles, however, was different.  Because it was neutral, the power of Darkness was inherent within it already, not a separate and equal half like the other Crests."  He shrugged and closed his eyes.  "One man's Miracle is another's Calamity.

"It was this perhaps, that lead to what was romantically called the Seduction of the Digidestined.  It seems that the Children of Light and Miracles were more vulnerable to the powers of Darkness because of their enhanced awareness.  It was also because the Crest of Light required an equal amount of Darkness to function and the Crest of Miracles carried the Darkness so closely within itself that it was impossible to separate the good from the evil.  When the time came, Light failed and Miracles slid into Darkness before she knew she was gone.

"The battle that transpired . . . was long and hard, and not worth rehashing.  Suffice it to say that Hope—whom the Dark One did not seduce—was the one to recall Light, but only at a great price to all the Children.  Anya, the Child of Miracles, could not be redeemed.  Digi Tomamon, her digimon, was forced to kill her.  The abrupt cut of the bonds of the Sacred Triangle shocked Light into turning away from the Darkness and enraged all the Children to the point where they could fight once more."

He paused and closed his eyes in remembered pain.  He could still remember that battle—he had spent lifetimes trying to forget.  When he opened his eyes he looked directly at Ken, hazel boring into blue-violet.  "That battle proved to be a deciding factor for the Guardians.  They ruled that the Ninth Crest was too dangerous to be released ever again and it was locked away.  In accordance with this, whenever the Digidestined were summoned in later years, the Ninth Child was never called."

"So his destiny was denied?"

Gennai looked levelly at Ken, never wavering.  "It was deemed best for everyone.  A child died, Ken.  You of all people should know what a terrible thing that is."  

He turned away so that he didn't have to watch the pain and betrayal he knew was bleeding out of those now purple eyes.  "While this did not destroy the bond between Light and Hope, it did severely cripple it.

"For a while, this worked out just fine, but then something absolutely disastrous occurred: Myotismon decided to leave the Digital World in search of the Eighth Child, Kari.  She had been left out of the Call—when the others were summoned—as a safeguard against such a thing.  Myotismon knew of the previous Seduction and he hoped to accomplish the same thing with Kari.  Thankfully, Gatomon pulled through."  He turned to the feline Champion.  "You have no idea what a risk I took on you.  If you hadn't come to your senses, who knows where we'd all be right now.

"I couldn't attend to you in the Real World because I had to guard the Digital World.  Even then, the Guardians could feel the Dark Masters rising to power, but Myotismon presented too big a threat to be ignored.  So, it was decided that to help stem the tide, one Child would be called into the Digital World."  He turned and found those blue-violet eyes again.  "So the Ninth Crest was released again and Ken Ichijouji was once again called into the Digital World."

Every head snapped towards Ken and the other Children all stared.  Yolei let out a small squeak.  "Are you saying that Ken is the Child of Miracles?"

Gennai nodded and Ken only smirked.  He had long ago divined where this line of conversation was going.

Davis frowned at Ken, then looked to Takeru and Kari, and then frowned at Gennai.  "But I thought that Ken has the Crest of Kindness, not Miracles."

Gennai nodded again.  "He does.  The problem was, you see, that the Ninth Crest could not be released.  Fortunately for us, Miracles, Light, and Hope are not Traits per say, they are merely channeled by the Bearers of their Crests.  The reason why they are assigned to certain people is because only those Chosen Children have the . . . stamina to channel the Sacred Powers.  Kari," he turned to her, "your Trait is Grace.  TK," the blond looked up curiously, "you are Truth, and you, Ken," he looked at the quiet boy, "are Kindness.  So, in order to give Ken the power necessary to fulfill his assigned destiny, the Ninth Crest was split into two equal halves: the Crest of Kindness and it's Compliment, the Crest of Cruelty."

Davis's brow drew down sharply and he leaned back.  "The power source," he murmured in realization.

"The what?" Armadillomon asked, looking from Gennai to Davis.

"I'm getting there, Davis," the traveler snapped, annoyed.  "As I told you earlier, all Crests carry their Anti-Crest property within them, but as Kindness is not a genuine sub-Crest, but a halved main Crest, it is unnatural and carries no Anti-Crest property, as a result—another thing that we did not foresee—Ken was always drawn towards the Anti-Crest property and it in turn was drawn to him.

"The Anti-Crest, however, was the least of our worries."  Gennai turned his back slightly to Ken.  "Even getting Ken into the Digital World was quite a trial.  The problem was that Ken's brother, Osamu, was in no way, shape, or form thrilled that his precious ototochan was out battling twenty-foot demons while he sat helpless a world away.  Plus, he was more than just a little bit jealous that Ken was chosen instead him."  Ken's eye narrowed dangerously and Gennai shifted as the intensity of that gaze bore through him.  "Because of this, Osamu . . . confiscated Ken's digivice.  Ken had snuck away and used the digivice to return to the Digital World behind his brother's back and against his wishes.  When Osamu discovered this, he was not at all happy and took the device away.  Nobody was particularly pleased with this turn of events, but eventually a compromise was reached.

"While all this was happening, there was a Tag Tamer in the Digital World named Ryou Akiyama.  He had been Ken's partner in the D-1 and had stayed on in the Digital World throughout the both Devimon and Edimon incidents seeing to other matters.  We needed Ken in the Digital World, but Osamu refused to let him return.  Fortunately, Ryou and Osamu were fairly close, so I went to the Tamer and he assured me that he would handle it.  Ryou and Osamu knew one another from the computer RPG circuit and Quake.  Ryou pulled a few strings with Oniisan and Ken was permitted to enter the Digital World to help counter the rising darkness.  Ryou and Ken became partners and I was assigned to train the two of them and help them in their fight."

Yolei frowned behind her glasses.  "All this happened while the others were in the Real World?"

Gennai nodded.  "You have to remember that time did not move at the same speed in both worlds then.  During the three weeks Tai and the others were seeking Kari and fighting Myotismon, nearly five years passed in the Digital World."

Gennai stopped and pinched the bridge his nose, looking suddenly tired.  He closed his eyes.

"But there was still the issue of Ken.  Ken was, at the time, about the same age as TK and he was, for all intents and purposes, alone.  Ryou was a Tamer, not a Digidestined, and he wasn't prepared to train one either.  So we told Ken that it was all just a video game.  Even as a child, Ken was very level-headed and not particularly fantasy prone, although not from lack of imagination, and it seemed to him to be the most logical conclusion and he readily accepted it."

Ken continued to watch the proceedings expressionlessly, but Takeru let out a hissing breath and movement fluttered around the circle.  Wormmon watched his boy's eyes worriedly.  "Ken," he whispered just loud enough to be heard.

Ken shook his head, mental eye turned inward as he attempted to match his memories up to Gennai's words.  There was so much lost—so many holes . . . 

Gennai waited for the movement to stop before continuing, "Things went well from there.  Ken was a natural strategist and Wormmon catches on to just about anything fairly quickly, so the training went by fast.  Their main objective was the destruction of one digimon in particular: Millenniumon.  Millenniumon was an ancient digimon, older than the Dark One or Apocalamon.  Millenniumon was actually nearly as old as the Four Guardians themselves, I believe.  

"Ken and Ryou's duty was to make Tai and the other's work easier by ridding the worlds of Millenniumon before he had the opportunity to team up with the Dark Masters.  Under the cover of Devimon and Myotismon's presences, he was free to work unchecked while we dealt with the more pressing threats of the other evil digimon.  Once they and the Chosen Children were out of the Digital World, he was free to run amuck.  As I understand it, the thing that made Millenniumon so dangerous, and one of the reasons why Ken was the best person to destroy him, was that he was created the same way that the Guardians were and as such was a vessel for all the programming of the Digital World."

Kari frowned and her eyes were troubled.  "What do you mean, a 'vessel?'  And why does that make Ken special?"

The traveler tilted his head back, cracking his neck, and took a deep breath.  "Not just any Mega digimon can be a Guardian, you know.  There are only four, and there can only be four.  The  . . . essence . . . spirit, if you will, of the Digital World is a part of them—it's in their code.  Each of them has a little bit of something different, but they're all equal.  It's rumored that Millenniumon  was the Fifth Guardian, but he didn't want to share the world, but rather rule alone.  He wanted a Digital World in _his_ image instead of the combined and balanced image of all of the Guardians.  The other Four banded together, stole most of his power, and cast him from the Outer Regions where they reside and made a Holy Pact to balance the Spheres between them and maintain the world together.  That's why it the Sphere of Miracles was so very important.  Miracles is the living embodiment of that Pact and is actually rumored to be the reservoir of Millenniumon 's power and function in his stead to balance the fifth realm of the Digital world.  That is just rumor and hypothesizing, of course.

"The reason why I say that Ken was necessary for him to be defeated is because one of Ken's gifts is that he can see and manipulate the Code."

Ten pairs of curious eyes turned to Ken and the youngest Ichijouji merely shrugged indifferently.  Cody eyed him oddly for a moment, something close to respect in his emerald orbs.  "You can actually change code?"

"Not 'code,' " the genius corrected, speaking for only the second time since Gennai's tale had begun.  " 'Code,' with a capital 'c.' And yeah, I can do it, but it takes quite a bit of energy and if I do it for prolonged periods of time I tend to get terrible migraines for weeks.  Watching the Code isn't really any easier.  I actually gave myself quite a start once and ended up going totally blind for four hours by straining myself."

Patamon watched the pale boy with a look of wonder.  "Show us!" the batpig piped up eagerly.

The slender human blinked for a moment, startled.  No one had ever asked him to show them before . . . He nodded.  "Alright."

Gennai moved so that everyone could see Ken and the boy gently lifted his partner out of his lap and set him on the floor.  He sat still for a moment, considering what he should do, then extended his arm straight out, hand clenched tight in a fist with the palm downward.  Indigo eyes fluttered briefly as he slowly turned his hand until it was palm upwards, gingerly opening his fist as he did so.

The other Children watched in wonder.  Dancing on the former despot's open palm was a large tongue of fire roughly six inches tall.  As they watched, it gradually grew higher and higher until it was a small pillar of flames roughly two feet high.  Then Ken sighed and it vanished.

"Cool!" declared Veemon enthusiastically.  "Do s'more!"

"Do ice!" commanded Davis.

A mock glare was launched the goggle boy's way and Ken made a very odd face that would have been a pout on anyone else.  "You would pick one of the hardest elements, wouldn't you?"

Without waiting for a response, Ken closed his eyes and laid both of his hands flat on the ground roughly a foot apart in front of him.  He lifted his hands until they were both about two feet off the ground with the fingers splayed wide.  A slight grimace twisted his delicate features unpleasantly and his eyelids bunched and wrinkled.  

The air between Ken's hands and the ground began to tremble, like heat waves on a summer day.  Then it began to sparkle as though glitter had been tossed on the floor and was being caught up in two miniature cyclones.  The glitter began to clump together until two clear blue pillars stood between Ken's trembling hands and the floor.  Gradually the pillars filled out, each growing separate shapes and angles as the ice took on forms and texture.  Ken was sweating.  Definite pictures were visible now—a flipper here, a mandible there—until two distinct, flawless life-sized ice sculptures were evident, one of Demiveemon, and the other of Minomon.  

Ken's hands lifted slightly and then dropped to his sides and he slumped backwards, looking drained but extremely pleased with himself.  The two rookie digimon approached their frosty in-training counterparts with expressions of dubious amazement.  Wormmon pulled himself up on his back pods and rested his two front pods on the sculpture.  He yelped when he made contact.

"That's cold!" he declared to no one in particular.

A tired chuckle left Ken's lips.  "It's ice.  You've seen me do this before, Wormmon."

The virus's eyes remained latched onto the Minomon replica.  "But you never did _me_ before."

Ken's eyes softened instantly and for a moment the Child of Kindness, the quiet gentle boy who had made his appearance at the Primary Village a few days past to greet his digimon, shone through.  Lithe arms reached out and snagged the dumbfounded caterpillar in a gentle hug.  "Well, now I have."

Gennai smiled.  Through everything that had happened in that boy's life, there was one thing that nothing could change:  when it came to his digimon, Ken simply had no defenses.

The soft look vanished, however, as soon as Ken's eyes latched onto the traveler's.  The man sighed silently.  _No rest for the wicked . . ._

Meanwhile, Veemon had pushed the Demiveemon replica to Davis who was loudly admiring it and passing it around.  Cody held it up for inspection.  "How did you do that?"

"It's magic," Armadillo said, leaning up for a closer look.                                                           

"It's not magic," his partner countered.  Then he looked suddenly unsure of himself.  He turned to Ken, a child's wonder on his face.  "Is it?"

Another chuckle.  "No, just control.  And years of practice.  All I did was summon some of the moisture in the air and drop the temperature a bit.  The rest . . ." he shrugged, a tired motion, "I just made it do what I wanted."

"You just made it do what you wanted?" repeated Yolei as she took the sculpture from the youngest of the Digidestined.

"Yeah."  Ken turned his eyes back to the traveler.  "But we're off the subject."

Gennai bowed his head in admission and stepped back into the circle, easily reclaiming the spotlight.  "As I was saying," he continued as Kari returned the statue to Davis, "Ken has an intuitive knowledge about most digimon because of his ability to tap into the Code of the Digital World."

"Is that the same code that's in the Guardians?"  TK asked.

The traveler nodded reluctantly.  "To an extent, yes."  He didn't want to get into that discussion—that would be just plain dangerous.  TK opened his mouth again, but Gennai overrode him.  _What is it about Takaishi that he knows how to ask all the right questions?_

"Obviously, things worked out and Millenniumon was defeated.  In fact, the final battle with Millenniumon occurred at the same time Angewoman first digivolved.  After that, Ken was returned to the real world and a short time later—in Earth time, at least—Tai and Kari and the others were recalled to the Digital World to face Piedmon and later Apocalamon."  

Ken watched Gennai for a moment, eyes glittering slits.  The traveler had skipped a lot of things—things that he wanted to know.  After nearly a full minute he spoke, a soft menacing purr in the silence.  "What happened before that, traveler?  Tell them what happened first."

Gennai looked at the slender boy and stiffened.  This was it.  This was the moment and they both knew it.  It was time to confess his sins.  Unconsciously the man straightened and stood up tall.  He looked the Child of Kindness and Miracles dead in the eye.  "Don't hate them.  I did it on my own recognizance, Ken.  I was the one who stole your memories."

"Wait a minute," Davis protested, cocking his head to the side.  "You did what to the who now?"

Ken glared malevolently at the traveler.  "How very anti-climactic of you, old man.  I must admit, I was expecting something a bit better from you."

"You said that you wanted the truth."

"And you said that there's no such thing as the truth."

"Hey," Yolei barked in frustration, "mind cluing in the rest of us?"

Ken looked at her for a brief instant before his eyes flickered back to Gennai.  "Yes, traveler.  Would you mind?"

Gennai looked away.  " . . . Things were hard, Ken."

The boy hugged Wormmon tight to his chest.  "Things have always been hard.  What happened next, Gennai?"

The man sighed.  "The fight with Millenniumon was hard and both you and Ryou were badly injured."  He closed his eyes.  "In fact it was pretty touch and go for a while.  Obviously you recovered and were sent home and Ryou was . . . sent away."

Ken glared at him, but knew that he would never be able to make his former mentor elaborate on that point.

"After the fight with Apocalamon, the Guardians decreed that the Crests would all have to be returned to their Spheres so that the Digital World could rejuvenate and recover.  To this end, Kari and Gatomon, TK and Patamon, Tai and Agumon, and all of the others returned their Crests to their separate Spheres until they would be needed again."

Gatomon was studying the ground and Yolei looked from TK to Kari as something dawned upon her.  "Oh!" the girl suddenly exclaimed, "that's why you two can only reach the Champion level."

TK blushed slightly and nodded.

"But then how did you two digivolve all the way when we were in America with Wallace?"* Davis demanded.

Ken surprised them all by answering, "The power responds to a need, not a desire.  With the Crest, once a digimon has reached the next level in response to a need, the Crest helps to channel the mutual desire between partners.  That's how they all could digivolve at will.  The Armor digivolve process is different in that, while the need does not have to be present, the Armor's Trait has to strong within the Bearer.  Thus Raindramon didn't digivolve until Davis understood Friendship and similarly Shurimon and Submarimon also remained dormant until their partner called upon their latent Traits."

Gennai looked down at his former protégé curiously.  "That's right.  How did you know that?"

A shrug.  "I _am_ a genius."

Gennai mentally added shrugging to his growing list of Detestable Body Language.

"But I don't recall drawing on Love or anything like that when Halsemon digivolved," Yolei informed him with a frown.

"I also have no such recollections for Digmon," Cody countered.

Ken grimaced a bit, but explained anyway.  "That's because Love and Knowledge are your dominant Traits.  You don't have to work at them.  Look at Davis for example: he doesn't need to work at being courageous, he just is.  That's an intrinsic and irrevocable part of who he is.  He doesn't need to _try_, he simply exists.  He makes no effort use Courage and his Armor responds to that."

Yolei shifted, still not satisfied.  "But Kindness is your dominant Trait and _you_ have to make an effort."

Wormmon stiffened defensively and Ken's eyes flashed in a dangerous manner.  "I also don't have Armor, now do I?" he hissed.

Gennai quickly returned to the original thread of conversation before things could get ugly.  "Actually, Kindness is not his dominant power—it's Miracles.  It was decided," he said, resuming his gestures and pacing, "that the Halved Crest would remain with Ken while the Anti-Crest, Cruelty, stayed in the Digital World.  In this fashion the Crest would act like a bind between the two Worlds.  This however, meant that Ken would still have the ability to come and go as he pleased between worlds.  To prevent this from happening, I . . . tricked Ken and tried to delete some of his memories.  I then sent him along his merry little way.  He had been in the Digital World for quite a while, although it only seemed like a few hours on Earth, but because he was from a different world, his body remained in tune with earth's time, so he didn't age.  

"That—" the traveler stopped himself suddenly and shook his head, apparently not satisfied with what he had been going to say.  "No," he contradicted himself to no one in particular.  "Perhaps things might have worked out all right, perhaps not.  Either way, we'll never know now.  In any case, the mind wipe was incomplete and Ken retained bits and pieces of his time in the Digital World.  The battle between Diaboromon and Omnimon over the Internet only served to further reawaken some of those memories.  But they were corrupted—warped.  Ken tried to return to the Digital World again for answers, but instead ended up being pulled into another dimension: the Dark World."  Gennai looked at TK.  "Thus was born the Digimon Emperor."

Gennai inhaled deeply, trying to gather his strength before continuing.  "The Dark World . . . was destroyed—twisted—by the negative energies of the Dark One and his followers.  It's like a virus, an ancient evil that permeates everything around it and seeps into the very stonework of the earth itself.  When Ken appeared there he was already battling a darkness of his own—his own grief and guilt—and he was not strong enough to fight off the dark influence.  Normally, his Crest would have helped him as it did Kari, but Ken's Crest was incomplete, remember, so it was actually fairly useless there. 

"As I said before, Ken was kept as a link between the two worlds and could pass readily between dimensions, but now there were extenuating circumstances to be dealt with.  There was the effects of the mind wipe, your own grief, guilt, and rage, the Dark Ocean's pull, the lack of balance in your Crest, the troubles in the Digital World, outside interference from the Real World, and a whole host of other things that I am unaware of.  At the time, however, the Guardians needed a balancing force—something to prevent the Digital World from stagnating, plus they also wanted to see what the effects of the Dark Ocean were," here he turned to TK, "so, yes, to answer your question, Takeru, we were aware of the Emperor.  We allowed him to come to power because we thought that we would be able to control him, contain him.  Obviously, we were wrong.  To make matters worse, the dark energy of the Control Spires actually ended binding the Guardians and preventing them from intervening in the events of the Digital World.  Something had to be done."

Yolei's eyes held silent accusations.  "So you called us to clean up your mess."

The traveler nodded wearily.  "So we called you.  I believe that you all know the rest."

"The power source?" prompted Armadillomon.

Gennai stretched a bit cracking his back.  He suddenly looked old and haggard.  "That was actually the Crest of Cruelty—Ken's Anti-Crest.  When the Crest of Kindness was brought closer to it, they couldn't merge again properly, so they fused together and made that thing.  The corruption is the same as with the Black Digivice: they reflect the turmoil in Ken's soul."  Gennai then frowned and blinked as something suddenly occurred to him.  He turned to Ken, mentally noting how exhausted the boy looked.  "Just how _did_ you get hold of that, anyway?"

"Hmm?"  Ken looked up, eyes slightly vague as he tried to pull himself out of his memories.  "The Power Source?  Oh," he shrugged indifferently, "I found that in the Server Dessert one day—about three miles to the Northwest of here, I believe.  Why do you ask?"

The adult eyed him closely.  "Was it like that at first?  Black, I mean?"

"No.  It was . . . glowing, I think.  It pulled me to it."  He shook his head as though trying to clear his thoughts.  "I'm sorry.  I don't quite remember very much from that time."

Gennai nodded.  "It was looking for the Crest of Kindness to complete itself.  The Crest of Kindness must have been slightly warped by its exposure to the Dark Ocean.  That must be what prevented the merger from happening properly."

"But his Crest turned into a golden Digi-egg!" Davis protested.  "How did that happen?"

Veemon thumped his tail on the ground.  "And how come I could digivolve, too?" 

Gennai sighed heavily.  "That was a reaction to Davis."

The brown-eyed boy started.  "I didn't do anything!"

"That's not what I meant, Davis."  He leveled a piercing gaze at the Child of Friendship and Courage.  "Haven't you ever wondered why Veemon and Agumon were so powerful?  The only digimon who stand close are Gabumon, Patamon, and eventually Wormmon, if he ever reaches his full potential."

Ken looked startled and Davis frowned.  "No.  Not really."

The traveler resisted the urge to groan.  He could feel a migraine coming on—he knew he could.  Or maybe he was lucky and it was just a tumor.  "The thing that was the Power Source was a perverted Crest—it was impure.  You exemplify your Traits, Davis, just like Tai, Matt, and Ken did before you, and you and TK continue to do.  The closer you are to your Trait, the stronger your digimon are because you can tap into more power than others can.  Just as Wormmon's weakening was a direct result of Ken's relationship to Kindness and Miracles, Veemon's strength is a direct result of your relationship to Courage and Friendship.

"The Crest of Miracles—what you call the Golden Digi-Egg—responded to that and was able to cast of the Darkness that had enshrouded it for so long."

Davis blinked.  "Oh."

Veemon thumped his tail again.  "But why did I digivolved?"

_I will not lose my patience; I will not lose my patience . . ._ "Miracles is a neutral Crest.   It can be used in conjunction with any Digital Armor because all of the Traits of the main Crest help to compose it.  This makes Miracles extremely strong, but also extremely weak."

Kari bit her lip.  "What do you mean?"

"The components of all the Crests are present in Miracles.  But so are the components of all the Anti-Crests, as well.  So not only does Ken have to deal with fighting his own innate Cruelty, but also Darkness, Cowardice, Isolation, Hate, Impurity, Ignorance, and Skepticism.  Everyday, all of you have to face your own demons.  For Kari, it's more difficult because it's not only her personal darkness that she's fighting; it's Darkness as a whole.  Ken's task is equally difficult, because he has to deal with all those things.  Thankfully, Light's influence on Miracles is not so strong that he has to deal with external Darkness, but if either of them slips for even an instant . . . Well you saw it for yourselves.  That's why Hope is so very important, not just to them, but to all of you.  Hope helps you all fight that Darkness within yourselves.  But your Friendship, Love, Faith, Purity, Grace, Courage, Knowledge, and Kindness all help stop Hope from sliding into Despair.  

"Miracles normally channels another Armor onto its bearer's digimon.  It was necessary, however, to use Davis because he was the strongest in his Traits and his bond with Veemon is incredibly powerful.  Actually, it could not have happened at all without Wormmon's betrayal or Ken's subconscious desire for it to occur."

"I do remember that little fiasco," Ken broke in crisply, "and I don't recall losing to be on the agenda."

Gennai looked at him levelly.  "No offense, Ken, but you weren't exactly of sound mind during that 'little fiasco,' so it's possible.  You'll just have to take my word for it."  He turned back to Veemon who appeared to be mulling that over.  "Understand?"

"So that means that Ken can armor digivolve with our digimentals?" Yolei asked.

The traveler nodded.  "If he awakens those Traits within him, yes."

Ken blinked and turned to regard each of the Digidestined in turn.  _Friendship, Hope, Love, Faith, Purity, and Light . . .?_  He smirked bitterly.  "I don't see that happening."

Maroon eyes hardened to ruby quartz and Kari cast Ken a hard glare from across the circle.  "What's the matter, Ken?  Don't you believe in Miracles?"

He glared at her.  She was not impressed.

Gennai frowned.  One way or another, this was going to degenerate into a fight rather quickly if they didn't all get some sleep soon.  And tomorrow was going to be a _very_ long day.  He looked down at Ken, wincing to see how the cold boy's shoulders drooped and his eyelids fluttered.  "Time to go to bed," the man said firmly.

Ken tore his gaze from Kari's and for a minute it looked like he'd protest.  Then he merely shrugged.  "Very well."

Gatomon's tail twitched.  "But where do we sleep?"

"I took care of that this afternoon," Wormmon replied as he wiggled his way free of Ken's lap.  "I converted a storage area into a bedroom for you all."  He waved a pod.  "I can show you the way if you follow me."

Ken looked up at Gennai.  "Do you have anymore to say?"  The man shook his head.  "Then I say we all get what rest we can.  We'll be there in a few hours."

"Where's there?" TK asked as he stood and adjusted his hat.

"The Dark Whirlpool."

Everyone froze.  Veemon fidgeted.  "Your kidding . . . right?"

The Ninth Child stood up and cracked his neck.  "No.  How else to you think we can get to the Dark Ocean?"

Gennai sighed as the other Children avoided Ken's piercing gaze.  "We'll discuss this tomorrow.  I think that we'll all agree that it's been a very long day."

"I'll show you the way," Wormmon said as he puttered out.  "Follow me."

The others picked up their respective digimon and belongings and followed the little green virus out the sliding doors.  "It's right near Ken-chan's room," he informed them as he puttered out.  "So if you need anything then you can—"

The door slid shut, cutting off his words and leaving Ken and Gennai alone.  

"Happy now?" the older human asked his former protégé.

Ken looked at him expressionlessly for a time.  "No.  You're still hiding things.  It's alright, though.  I think I have to do this myself.  It was foolish of me to believe that I could just have everything—anything—handed to me on a silver platter."

"Just because you're doing it yourself doesn't mean that you're alone, Kenny-boy."

The Child turned away.  Gennai looked at Ken sadly for a long, long time and the boy crossed his arms around his waist and looked blankly at the black window.

"You looked like hell," Ken said, his words cold and awkward after the deep silence.  "When I woke up, I mean.  What happened?"

"I . . ." Gennai shifted uncomfortably.  "I just remembered a few things that I had forgotten, that's all.  And you, Ken?  What did you dream about?"

The dark-haired youth didn't move.  "Myself," he responded without missing a beat.  "The past, the future.  My destiny."

"And what did you see?"

"I saw nothing, Gennai."  For once he said the name without rancor or scorn.  He sounded old then—tired and used up.  "I didn't see anything at all."

Gennai looked at his back for a minute and then turned around and began to walk towards the door.  He stopped in the doorway and looked back.  Ken still remained in the same spot.  The traveler hit the light switch, plunging the room into darkness.

"Get some sleep, Ken."  He turned away then, the door whispering shut behind him and leaving Ken alone in the dark.  

The Child of Kindness and Miracles stared out of the window for a very long time without seeing anything.  _"But there's no need for turning back / 'cuz all roads lead to where I stand / and I believe I'll walk them all / No matter what I may have planned . . ."_

**************

Gennai stood alone in the engine room.  It was gone.  Somehow, somebody had gotten here first.  He felt weak in the knees.

What's the matter, traveler?  You look like you've seen a ghost.

The man closed his eyes.  "Where is it, Osamu?"

_Where's what?_

He spun around to glare at the ghost.  "Damnit, where is the Crest of Cruelty?"

Osamu glared back, unperturbed.  _How should I know? _

Gennai felt a surge of anger go through him.  "Ichijouji, we need that!  Without it—"

I am well aware of what will happen, traveler.

They stared at one another for a moment and the tension was palpable.  Gennai was the first to break the silence.  "What exactly is your agenda, anyway?"

Redemption.  What's yours? 

"The salvation of both worlds," he answered without hesitation.

_Bullshit,_ Osamu drawled calmly.  _Whose salvation are you after, guardian?_

"I could ask you the same thing, Osamu.  What exactly did you do that was so bad?  You said that you hurt Ken: how?  What are you hiding?"

The boy looked away.  _It seems that we both have our secrets then._  After a moment of silence, he looked back up.  _But I do want the Children to succeed.  The Crest of Cruelty is in safe hands.  Your . . . lady friend was after it.  A friend of mine interfered and removed it from this plane. As to what he did with it afterwards, I couldn't tell you._

"But Ken needs it."

_I know.  My friend will see to it that he gets it.  The Dark One must be stopped for everyone sake, not just Ken and the Spirit World's._  His violet eyes regarded the traveler calmly and he tilted his head to the side.  _If you interfere with that, I will find a way to kill you._

Gennai gritted his teeth.  There was no doubt in his mind that Sam was dead serious and that he both could and would do it.  The man turned around to go.  He stepped out into the dim hallway and looked back.  "I think I'm beginning to understand why he hated you so much, Osamu," he said calmly.  "You can be a real asshole."

Osamu glared at him.  _I have always done what I must to protect my little brother, traveler.  Whether he liked it or not._

The door slid shut and Gennai walked away.  He had a bad feeling about this, a very bad feeling indeed.

Outside the world raced past on its way to the inevitable.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	31. To Seek Out the Dark Places

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

****

For They Shall Be Filled 

By: **Vain**

****

**__________________________________________________________**

**Vain: ***cackles maniacally*  I **_AM_** the Dark Queen of fan fiction!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Tsuzuki**: Why does she keep saying that?

**Osamu**:  It's the stress—it's finally broken her.

**Vain**: *giggles insanely*

**Remy**: *eyes the near-hysterical Vain warily*  Shouldn' we do somet'in 'bout dis?

**Hisoka**: *looks up from his copy of The Washington Post*  No.

**Ken**: But what is she going on about?  *reads chapter 30*  _WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!_****

**Tsuzuki**: *reads with him and pales*

**Osamu**: So what's up?

**Tsuzuki**: *shakes his head and stutters*

**Hisoka**: *glares*  You'll have to forgive Tsuzuki.  He's an idiot.

**Vain**:  *giggles some more*  I don't own anything except the plot and the four Guardians of the Digidestined—not the Guardian Beasts.  Read and Review please!

**Osamu**: *reads chapter 30*  You are an evil, evil young woman, Vain-chan.  Evil.

**Remy**: Duh.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**_~"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened,_**

**_ and the moon will not give its light; _**

**_the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."_****__**

**-Matthew 24: 29**

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**Part Thirty**

To Seek Out the Dark Places 

**"It is beginning."**

**"Only three of them are Blessed.  What is to be done?"**

**"What can be done now?!  I told you not to—"**

**"If you say 'I told you so' one more—"**

**"Don't you two ever stop?  We have other things to worry over.  They are beyond our help now."**

**"Than why worry over them?  Gennai will see to them."**

**"If he doesn't betray us."**

**"Gennai is not Kazunori.  He will stand firm."**

**"And just how do you know that?"**

**"Because he knows the pain of betraying and being betrayed.  And because he's sinned far too much for our sakes to leave us now."**

**"We thought the same before."**

**"And no one had died before either.  There is blood on Hitsoyuki Gennai's hands.  It binds him to us.  He will not betray us."**

**"Perhaps a little insurance . . ."**

**"What do you propose?"**

**"An impromptu meeting?"**

**"I see nothing wrong with this."**

**"It hardly matters now.  Destiny is already at work and there's little we can do to stop that.  Do as you like."**

**"Very well, then.  It's decided."**

**"You do realize that there's no need for anxiety now, don't you?  There isn't a lot we can do by this point in time."**

**"Stop."**

**"What is it?"**

**"My Child . . . His Crests are glowing . . ."**

**"This is no authorized Test!!  Who did this?!"**

**"This isn't a Test . . . He's doing this himself . . ."**

**"Are you certain?"**

**"Yes."**

**"What should we do?"**

**"Let him do it.  Let's see what happens.  It may turn out that we were wrong about the humans all along.  We were wrong about Miracles and Kazunori."**

**"Then this changes things.  If the humans are this strong without our aid . . ."**

**"This is what I have said all along."**

**"Then you had best pray that you are correct."**

**"Let's just wait and see.  Have faith in our little humans."**

**"Whoever thought that the day would come when _we_ needed into have faith in _them_?"**

**"Well, if we don't believe in them, in whom should gods have faith?"**

And for the first time in a very long time, nobody responded.

**************

Cody opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling.  The storage room's walls were so high that the beams crisscrossing the ceiling were invisible.  He closed his eyes slowly and frowned_.  I just can't understand him!_

The incident in the engine room rushed back to him with painful clarity. _"What do you want me to say?  That I wanted to?  I did.  That I enjoyed it?  I did.  That, as deplorable and twisted as it was, I still sometimes miss it?  I do.  That I'm angry and scared and frustrated and lost and so fucked up that I can barely see where I came from, let alone where I'm going?  I am.  Is that good enough?  Does that make you _feel_ better, Hida? _

Did it make him feel better?  Was he really better than Ichijouji?  More worthy?  And if he was: more worthy of what?  The boy shook his head rapidly in the dark.  No!  No, it couldn't come down to question of his worth.  _He_ wasn't the one who had tortured the digimon.  _He_ wasn't the one who had tried to take over the Digital World.  _He_ wasn't the one who had done God knows how much damage to both his own family and everyone he encountered.  Ichijouji was.  The Digimon Emperor. 

_But it could have been you_, a tiny voice of dissent whispered in his mind_.  It still could be you.  Why was he the Emperor?  That's what you're afraid of finding out, isn't it?  Because if you find out WHY he was the Emperor, you'll find out that he's really no different from you.  You'll find out that all your righteousness, all you supposed justice is a lie—a deception formulated for the sole purpose of helping you sleep at night.  And that frightens you more than anything else._

Cody sat up and rubbed his eyes.  "But he's not the same as us," he whispered to his sleeping comrades still forms.  Davis snorted and rolled over in his sleep and the others were still.  

Cody slid himself out from beneath his blankets, carefully so as not to disturb Armadillomon, and silently maneuvered his way around the others' beds.  Wormmon had set up the storage area with nine cots laid out in a wide circle.  The rest of the storage area seemed to gape around them and gave the small boy the impression that they were sleeping in the midst of a huge mouth that was preparing to swallow them all up.  The others had fallen asleep almost as soon as Wormmon left the room; Cody had been unable to close his eyes for an instant.  How could they rest so peacefully in the home of their worst enemy?  It was beyond him.

But Ken wasn't their enemy—not anymore at least.  Now he was their ally.  That meant that they had to trust him—that they had to have faith in him . . . Faith.  According to Gennai and Stingmon, his was the Crest of Faith, so why couldn't he have Faith in Ken?

But how could he trust him?  How could he believe in him when the genius had done nothing to earn that belief?

The answer was simple: he couldn't.  But then there was always TK's side.  Cody trusted and admired TK more than any of the other Digidestined.  The boy had an innate sense of justice and wisdom that Cody both envied and admired.  So why was TK such a staunch supporter of Ichijouji?

". . . When we were in the Digimon Emperor's base and I got into that fight with him, I asked him if he always resorted to violence when he ran out of things to say.  He gave me the weirdest look, kind of like a little kid who had gotten lost and wasn't really sure how.  He looked at me and said, 'I guess so.'  I never really thought about it until yesterday, but I get the feeling that Ken's just . . . I don't know—lost, I guess.  And no, Yolei, I don't mean crazy, I mean like his soul is lost.  And I want to help him find it.  Maybe you think I'm crazy, but I think he'd make a great ally—probably even a better friend.  And I definitely don't want to face him as an enemy again." 

Cody walked out of the door of the storage area.  "What makes Ichijouji so special?" he asked the steel lined halls.  His words echoed back to him and he stopped, wishing that the answer would bounce off those walls and back to his ears just as readily.

The room across from theirs was Ken's.  Cody stepped across the hall and idly wondered why Ken had a storage room right across from his bedroom.  If there was one thing that the child couldn't begrudge their former foe of, it was strategic thinking and pragmatism.  Perhaps one day he'd ask Ken about that storage room.  Maybe he'd even get a straight answer from him.  He touched the panel next to the door gingerly.  It was unlocked and the door slid open and Cody entered.  He did not question the rational that had led him to the bedroom of the Digimon Emperor at this hour—there was no rational.  He was merely acting on instincts he didn't know he possessed.  He didn't understand it, but he also didn't question it; maybe this was what everyone kept calling destiny.

The bed was large and it was the only real feature of the room, so despite the pitch black darkness around him, it was easy to make out with the help of the dim auxiliary lighting in the hall.  The boy stepped over the threshold and entered the room.  The door hissed shut behind him.  He walked carefully into the room until he encountered the soft round edges of the bed.  He sat down on the bed gently so he didn't disturb the occupants and listened to the sound of his own quiet breathing blending in with Ken and Wormmon's.

"I don't understand you," he murmured at last.  His brow was distorted by confusion and the expression bled over into his tone of voice.  "I don't understand you at all."

He shifted a bit and listened to Ken draw in shallow but even breaths.

"You have everything.  People like you.  They respect you.  Your parents adore you.  You're brilliant, a good athlete, and every girl who sees you practically drools.  You are you _so_ unhappy?" His voice sounded small and slightly scratchy in the darkness.  "Why are you so angry?"

"And do you really think any of that matters, Cody?"

Cody's heart nearly exploded.  He stood, terrified and ready to flee, but an impossibly strong, fine boned hand snapped out and gripped his wrist, pulling him back down onto the bed in a sitting position.  The grip wasn't painful, but it was obvious that Ken had no intention of letting him go.

"Do you really think it matters?" he repeated.

Cody hesitated.  What was he afraid of?  "Yes."

A sharp bark of bitter laughter cut through the darkness and Cody suddenly wanted more than anything to see Ken's face.  "That stuff doesn't mean anything at all!  People don't know me.  They envy me and faun over me for my wealth and prestige—nothing more.  My parents don't even know what I like to eat.  They're not even sure who I'm with right now.  And you know what?  As long as I'm bringing in the money, they don't care.  None of it matters!!!  None of it's real!  It's less than a game: it's a lie.  At least in a game the fantasy is understood and accepted.  I may as well not even exist.  They don't want to be my friends.  They want to be friends with Ken Ichijouji—" He cut off abruptly, as though he were afraid he had given something away.

They were both quiet, absorbing the heavy silence around them.  Oblivious, Wormmon remained asleep.  After an eternity, Ken released Cody's wrist and drug his hand across the comforter to rest on his stomach.

"And you're not Ken Ichijouji?" Cody murmured in a barely audible breath.

Ken sighed softly.  "About five years ago there was a terrible accident.  Ken Ichijouji died."

"Why?"

"Because he was too weak to survive the aftermath.  Because he couldn't have borne the burdens he needed to."

Cody thought about this for a moment.  Riddles and enigmas: that was all he ever got from Ken.  But maybe that's because those were the only answers the celebrated genius had.  "Then who are you?"

There was another dark pause.  "An abomination."

Cody bit his lip.  There had been no emotion in his voice then—nothing except a total and relaxed acceptance.  _Should I believe him?  Can I trust him?_

Emerald eyes blinked slowly and he studied the darkness in the opposite direction of where Ken lay.  "Why?" he asked again in a flat uncompromising tone.

"Why do you care?"  The older boy sounded tired.  "What's done is done."

"I don't trust you."

"You don't have to trust me.  All you have to do is believe that I'll do as I say.  Believe that I'm . . . here . . . worthwhile."

_Believe in you, you mean, _Cody thought as he stared into the darkness.  He frowned.  "Why?" he demanded for the third time.

Next to him, Ken shifted.  "Because I was afraid."

The admission hung in the air, almost visible.  It was something dangerous and tangible and Cody wanted to reach out and grab it and hold it close.  He wanted to put it in a jar and preserve and hold it up to the light for study.  "Ken Ichijouji's Soul."  That's what he would call it.  That's exactly what the admission was and it's release—it's acknowledgement—seemed to leave the eloquent Tamachi boy wounded and bleeding.  "Ken Ichijouji's Soul."  Cody would look back one day and be amazed when he realized what he had been shown that night.

"Of?"

"Failing.  Being alone.  Being human.  Humans are weak, fragile things.  They're like crystal or porcelain.  Just a little bit of pressure in the right place makes them shatter and you might be able to fit the pieces back together, but it'll never be the same and it will be even weaker."

Cody sat still for a moment and absorbed that.  Then he stood up.  "Goodnight, Ken."  He didn't look back as he left the room and Ken didn't reply.

"Did ya talk to 'im?" a soft twang startled him as he slid back into his cot across the hall.

"What?"  Cody peered down at his partner.  "How long have you been up Armadillomon?"

"About two hours."  The tawny digimon unrolled himself and stretched before settling down again.  "Did ya talk to him?"

"Yes."  Cody lay down and pulled his blanket up.  

Armadillomon watched him curiously.  "And?"

" . . . I think I believe him."  Cody rolled over.  "Goodnight, Armadillomon."

Armadillo would have answered, but his partner was already asleep.  As it was, a small smile touched the vaccine's mouth as he watched his partner's D-3 and D-Terminal glow a deep blue.  After that, they both slept peacefully for the rest of the night.

**************

Cody was dreaming.  In his dreams four animals—monstrous, but not frightening—reached out towards him.  

**Sleep, Child.**

**You have done well, Faith and Knowledge.  Well indeed.**

**You have been Blessed.**

Cody blinked as a bright light washed over him, followed by a deep darkness.  "Who—?"

**Sleep.**

And so he did and the darkness carried him away.

**************

Ken lay in his big round bed and stared up at the ceiling.  The room was pitch black and there were no windows.  He had been awake for hours.  He had been awake since before Cody had come and talked to him and he certainly hadn't been able to sleep after he had said all those things.  

Why had he told the boy that?

He wasn't sure.

"Ken-chan?"

A pale hand reached across the dark cover in the direction of the voice and gently stroked Wormmon's head.  "Hmm?"

"It's still early.  The others are still asleep.  Why don't you get some more rest?  You tossed and turned most of the night."

"I'm sorry.  Did I keep you awake?"

A sigh.  "No."

Ken didn't respond and the darkness seemed to swallow him up.  After a few moments of oppressive stillness, Wormmon crawled across the covers and up onto Ken's chest.  He pulled himself up onto his hind pods and tried to peer down into Ken's eyes in the darkness.

Ken fought down the rather bizarre urge to chuckle.  "What are you doing, Wormmon?"

The virus said nothing, instead staring down at his partner with unnerving intensity.  

Then: "Ken-chan?"

The boy waited patiently.

"Do you blame me?"

"What?"  Ken sat up, wrapping his digimon into a gentle hug so that the little creature didn't fall.  "Blame you?  For what?  Where is all this coming from?"

Wormmon burrowed into his arms in response.  "I couldn't help you.  I'm never there when you need me.  I couldn't stop Millenniumon from hurting you, I wasn't there when Osamu died, I couldn't stop you from becoming the Emperor—"

"No, no, no, no, no," the human interrupted in a gentle voice.  "What are you talking about?  That wasn't your fault.  Why would I blame you?"

"But I can remember and you can't!"  Wormmon tried to hide in his human's arms and Ken felt hot tears start to seep through his nightshirt.  "Sometimes I think that this is all a dream and when I wake up you'll be the Emperor again, or worse, I'll be all alone again like I was before you came and if that happened I think I'd just die!!"  The little virus was wailing by now and Ken was at quite a loss, unsure what had provoked this, where it was going, or how to stop it.  

"Wormmon—"

He shook his head as he cried, stealing the words from Ken before they were even in his throat.  "You know I love you, right, Ken-chan?"

Thoroughly bewildered by the point in time, the boy sighed.  "Of course I know that, Wormmon.  Just what has gotten into you?"

The digimon shook his head again and Ken bit back a growl of frustration.  A sudden thought occurred to him and he tightened his hold on Wormmon.  Perhaps he should have pushed the traveler a bit harder last night.  Perhaps if that was what had upset his partner this much, he should put a bit more stock in the guardian's words.

He gently set his partner down on the mattress and stood up.  Wormmon, still miserable, but no longer crying, looked up at him.  "Ken—"

"Let's go for a walk, Wormmon."  He started to change his clothes and tried to but his partner's bizarre depression out of his head.  A walk would be perfect; it would give him time to think and give Wormmon an excuse to be held—something the insecure creature loved but would never dare ask for.  

Wormmon's word's came back to him, _"You know I love you, right, Ken-chan?"_ and his breath caught in his throat as a hazy memory suddenly sprang to the forefront of his mind.

_"You **know** I love you, right, Kenny-boy?"_

"But Osamu Oniichan, please . . ."

"Be quiet!!  Damnit, this is for your own good!" 

He shivered and shoved the memory back down to where it belonged.  There would be time to deal with that later—for now he would focus on what he could handle: the traveler.

**************

Gennai felt a chill run down his back and he opened his eyes.  The doorway to the storage area way open and a familiar form stood silhouetted against the hall light.  Something was settled comfortably on the figure's shoulder and two pairs of eyes gleamed faintly in the dim light.  Gennai rubbed his eyes and sat up, grimacing at the taste of morning breath and unscrubbed teeth.  

"What are you doing, Ken?" he whispered, feeling disoriented and confused.  He hated mornings.  "It's almost six am."

A slender hand rose and beckoned and Gennai found himself on his feet, still more than a little annoyed the boy's odd behavior.  _Then again_, he thought wryly as he scrubbed his hair back, _if Ken ever acted normal, it would be odd.  _

He blinked as he stepped into the hall.  Osamu was casually leaning on the wall just behind his brother and his violet eyes fixed a decidedly chilly look on the traveler when he stepped into view.  Wormmon's crystal blue eyes looked foggy and slightly bloodshot where he was perched on Ken's shoulder and he avoided Gennai's gaze.  For his part, Ken had his arms crossed and was eyeing the traveler with similar distaste and he wondered what he had done to get the two Ichijouji brothers in a tizzy at six in the morning.

The man yawned.  "You summoned?"

Osamu sneered and Ken narrowed his eyes.  "You haven't told us everything have you?"

Gennai blinked as his sleep-addled brain attempted to grasp the words and their implications.  Ken could be frightfully blunt at times.  "What are you talking about, Ken?"

Ken's eyes glittered unnervingly and it was an effort not to stare at the two Ichijouji brothers.  They looked so much alike it was positively uncanny.   "I went on a walk this morning, traveler.  We went by the engine room.  We took the west hall.  Did you know I can sense Darkness?  There was a slight rupture in the area of the core, so I checked the security cameras.  You _do_ keep the most interesting company, Gennai."

The traveler stiffened and felt himself pale before he could control the reaction.  Osamu smirked evilly and Ken made a noise that could only be called a satisfied growl.  Wormmon seemed to be trying to burrow into the back of Ken's neck where Gennai couldn't see him.

The brown-haired man licked his lips and felt himself lean against the wall for support.  "How—"

Ken darted forward, startling the man so badly that he nearly fell.  "You know, for someone who's supposedly been doing this stuff for years, you sure do suck at it."

Gennai was a guardian.  He was a traveler.  He had once been human, but now he was something else—something closer to a spirit or a digimon, but with a human soul, tainted as it was.  He had been chosen above all others to protect the Digital World and act as the Four Guardians' voice.  He had never been allowed to choose.  He had sacrificed his life, his family, his very existence, to stand by and watch as the only life he had left spiraled out of his control.  His Master, his charges, the woman he had once thought he loved so very, very long ago, his friends—all gone in the space of one digital year.  And now, to stand here and be so graphically reminded of his failure by the very living embodiment and culmination of that failure was simply too much.  He had sacrificed, lost, far too much to ever accept his own unimportance in the grand scheme of things.  So he tackled Ken.

Wormmon was sent flying as Gennai knocked the boy to the ground and Osamu gaped unnoticed and unable to aid his shocked brother.  Ken grunted as he hit the hard floor and his look of shock was quickly replaced by a scowl as he used the traveler's momentum against him and rolled back, tucking his legs between their bodies and using them to flip the larger man off him.  Gennai landed hard on the floor and for a moment the two combatants were still, both shocked into inaction by the other's violence.

Wormmon, who had suffered far worse abuse during Ken's Emperor days, was the first to recover.  The little insect type struggled briefly, pods waving uselessly in the air as he attempted to roll over off of his back.  "Ken . . .?"

The former Emperor turned away from Gennai and his eyes widened when he saw his partner's predicament.  He scrambled to his feet and quickly went to scoop the digimon up in his arms.  He hugged him.  "This day just hasn't started out well for you, has it?"

Wormmon closed his large blue eyes and snuggled down into his partner's arms.  "No, it hasn't."

Gennai pulled himself up to his feet and stiffly met Osamu's furious gaze with one of his own.  _"How dare you . . ."_ the specter hissed. 

Ken turned around and frowned at the traveler, unwittingly cutting off his brother's inevitable tirade.  "I deserved that."

Wormmon's eyes snapped open and Osamu's jaw literally dropped at hearing the younger boy's calm admission.  Gennai, who had been perfectly prepared to get into an argument, blinked, unsure how to proceed.

"I deserved that," Ken repeated as he unconsciously rubbed Wormmon's head in a soothing manner, "but you have to come clean traveler.  Just what the hell is really going on here?"

Gennai closed his eyes and dropped his head.  "More than I hope you will ever know, Ken."

"Bullshit," Ken responded coolly.  

Gennai looked up and his eyes hardened.  "One day you're going to fail Ken.  And I don't mean a test or playing Emperor.  I mean FAIL—as in lose everything.  One day you're going to break.  Then you'll understand."

Two sets of blue violet eyes narrowed, one spectral, one living.  Wormmon stared at Gennai as though he'd lost his mind.  

Ken smiled.  "Perhaps."  He cocked his head to the side.  "But it will not be because of you, Gennai.  What are you so afraid of?"

The traveler smiled a smile of his own, pained and bitter.  "The same thing that you're fighting: the future."

"We are not the same, traveler!!"

"I know.  Because at the end of the day, I know why I'm still fighting.  Do you?"

Ken glared at him and Osamu looked at the ground.  The younger Ichijouji brother walked up to Gennai, pale and jaw tensed.  He leaned up and his voice was an icy whisper in Gennai's ear.  "Yes.  To fix everything that you fucked up in my head.  How do you and your Guardians justify that at the end of the day, traveler?  What sad gods you all make—meddling with things that you can't control.  Breaking people that you can't fix.  How _do_ you justify that at the end of the day?"

Gennai flinched and turned away, squeezing his eyes closed.

Ken chuckled softly, a dark noise, and brushed past the guardian.  "Sad gods, indeed."

When the traveler looked up, both Ichijouji brothers were gone.  It was as though they had never even been there.

**************

Cold.  That was the only proper adjective for it.  It was cold.  Not a cold that slid along your skin and made you shiver, though—it was a cold the cut into your soul and made you shake.  Yolei bit the inside of her cheek to stop her teeth from chattering.  

It was almost noon, but no sunlight dared peer into the control room of the former Digimon Emperor.  They had barely been awake for an hour when Ken's authoritative voice cracked through the loudspeakers and "requested" that they all come up to the main deck.  So now they were all standing in the darkened room and staring at the monitors—or more accurately at the picture of the giant black hole in the ocean that the monitors displayed.  

"Is that it?" Yolei murmured, glasses reflecting the bright light.

From his perch on the throne, Ken eyed the monitor coolly.  "Yes," he responded in a monotone.  "That's the Dark Whirlpool."  It was impossible to tell what he was thinking from his voice.  "I have us circling above the Whirlpool.  If we get much closer, we would be drawn down to the center by the vortex.  The engines just aren't strong enough to resist the force of the Whirlpool—at least not as well as they could have before the crash."

Kari rubbed her arms vigorously.  "Will we be safe here then?"

"It would take an act of God to move this base right now."

Takeru turned around and frowned at the closed expression on the former ruler's face, but Ken was too busy rubbing the palm of his right hand in agitation to notice.  The blond unobtrusively shifted so that he stood next to the throne.  The others didn't see the covert movement.  "You alright?" he asked in a voice meant for Ken alone.

The other boy jumped a bit in surprise and drug his eyes away from the screens to frown at TK uncertainly.  "I'm fine."

"You're lying," came the soft retort.

Fire flared in Ken's eyes before he shook his head.  "I'm fine, Takaishi," he repeated, turning his attention back to the screens.

TK's frown darkened and he straightened.

"So what happens now?" asked Cody.

Ken looked away from the monitors to Gennai.  "Well?"

The adult sighed and resisted the urge to rub his eyes.  "First, I suggest we get something to eat and take some time to prepare ourselves for this mentally.  Once we go in there, we can't come back."

The others turned, startled.  

Kari tilted her head to the side.  "You're coming with us, Gennai?"

Ken's eyes hardened.  "Why?  You could do more good here.  If we fail, who will be left behind to pick up the slack?"

Gennai looked a bit startled.  Ken had an astute military mind, but somehow it seemed wrong for a child to be the bearer of such cold and precise logic.  "Don't fail then," he told the boy.

"Why are you going?" TK persisted while Ken glared at the traveler.

Gennai pinned a fierce glare on Takeru, causing the blond to shy back from the terrible look in his eyes.  "Just trust me, you two.  I _need_ to be there."

Both boys narrowed their eyes and Ken's face hardened, but neither protested.

"So what's for breakfast, Yolei?" demanded Davis.

A smirk danced around Ken's lips.  That boy even _sounded_ bouncy.

"I made dinner last night!" the girl whined in response.

"Yeah," said Kari with a slight frown.  "Why don't you make breakfast, Davis?"

"But I'm a guy!"

The Child of Light's eyebrows shot up and Davis cringed.  _Uh-oh . . ._

"And what does that have anything to do with anything, Motomiya??" 

"Um . . ."

"That's quite alright," Ken broke in, barely repressing a smirk.  "I'd really rather not die here in a kitchen fire."

"Hey!" Davis straightened and glared at the once Emperor.  "I can cook!!"  He cast pleading chocolate eyes down at his partner.  "Right, Veemon?"

"Uh . . ."

"Hey!!"

TK sighed in defeat.  "I'll cook.  Davis, you, Veemon, and Patamon can help."

"But—"

Kari eyed her best friend curiously.  "I didn't know that you could cook, TK."

The blond grinned.  "Matt taught me.

Kari and Yolei exchanged a glance.  "We'll cook!" the two declared in unison.

They each grabbed their respective partner and fled before TK and Davis could protest.

Davis grinned at his friend.  "That was dirty and underhanded, Takaishi."

"What was?" Veemon asked in confusion.

Patamon was giggling and the Child of Hope laughed.  "Well, we're gonna eat, aren't we?  Don't knock it, goggle-boy!"

Violet eyes traveled between the two smiling faces for a moment.  "Should I ask?"

"No."  Cody shook his head.  "Don't go there."

"What's the matter, Cody?" asked a still-chuckling Davis.  "Don't you like wusabi, hot sauce, tamales, and horseradish?"

The serious little boy looked at him levelly.  "Not all at once.  And certainly not on any sort of green meat products."

"What's horseradish?" asked Armadillomon from his place at Cody's feet.

"Vile," supplied Ken.

Davis and TK bust up all over again and Ken blinked at them in surprise.

Gennai watched them with a frown and then turned to look at Wormmon.  "I just don't understand humans sometimes."

The little green virus bobbed his head up and down in agreement.

**************

She turned her empty eyes up to her beloved and sighed.   He hadn't moved in nearly an hour.  They were all out there, waiting somewhere just beyond the Divide: Love, Hope, Light, Miracles, Purity, Knowledge, Courage, Friendship—for the first time in years they were all united.  Truly, this was a momentous day.

"What do you want to accomplish?" she whispered in a barely audible voice.

The mass of Darkness next to her shifted.  **"I should think that that would be obvious."**

She was not afraid of that critical gaze that would have killed most with a glance.  She could never fear him—she knew him too well.  "You're taking stupid risks.  You haven't even called out the troops.  You've made no moves against Light or the Ichijouji brat.  You are setting yourself up for defeat.  I don't understand."

**"He will come to me."  **

Her vacant sockets looked at him for a long moment before she felt something cold settle into the pit of her stomach.  Was this fear?  No.  She was incapable of fear.  She turned away, teal hair swaying in the windless air.  "Oh, my love . . ."

"He will come to me.  Gennai—"  

She closed her eyelids and dropped her head, blocking out his words.  Gennai.  He's risking all this—everything—on that fool traveler.  She wondered if it had even occurred to him that Gennai might remain steadfast to the Guardians.  He had before and it had brought them to ruin.  It would do so again.

A small growl of disgust escaped her lips and she turned away.  If he was going to put this entire fate of this battle in Gennai's hands . . . Guardians damn him!  Why did he do things like this?! 

**"Sanghee."**

She turned.  "Beloved?"

**"You are afraid."**

" . . . Yes.  Light and Miracles cannot be ignored, Master.  They are too dangerous.  I had hoped that that was made clear during the first battle_."  I thought you knew that Gennai could not be trusted, either_, she added silently.  

"Do you want them?" 

She frowned, unsure of what he meant.  "I don't understand."

**"Light and Miracles?  You _do_ seem to have this unusual . . . preoccupation with Ichijouji.  A gift to you perhaps—yours to play with as you like?"**

She almost sighed.  He still didn't understand.  Was he really that confident of Gennai's defection?  "As you will, my lord." 

She walked out, her skirts swaying enticingly as she moved.  She loved him—always had and always would—it was her destiny to rule at his side.  At least that's what she had once believed.  But perhaps it was time she began to consider cutting her losses.  He was playing this out stupidly.  He had made the same  mistakes in the first battle, too.  Yes, perhaps it was time she found another ally.  The Ichijouji brat . . . he would do with some work . . . Yes; he was much stronger than Anya.  The Spore made him strong.  He and the Master were, after all, almost the same.  As for the Master . . . well, sacrifices had to be made.  It was a pity, though.  She really did love him.

Behind her, she felt a massive swell of Dark energy.  She paused.  "So it's begun at last . . ." She sighed and shook her head.  They would be here soon, and with them was Ichijouji—she had plans to make.

The Darkness surged again and she continued on without even a backwards glance.  "Goodbye.  My love."

**************

They had just started the dishes when the attack came.  Water sloshed over the sink, soaking Davis and send the goggle boy sprawling on top of Veemon and Cody.  The little blue vaccine yelped, dropped the dishes he'd been holding and hit the ground with a hard thud.  

"Davis, you're on my tail!!"

"Hold on!  Ow!!"

Another shock hit the base and metal cupboards flew open, dropping pots, pans, dishes, and canned goods on the unfortunate boys and digimon.  Armadillomon came rolling out of the pantry, a tawny golden ball that slammed into a cabinet door with a loud bang.  Cody cried out as a pot hit him on the shoulder and covered his head with his hands.  "What's happening?!"

"I don't know!"

The room stopped pitching and Davis hauled himself to his feet before whirling around and lifting Cody up.  He grabbed the smaller boy's hand as the digimon straightened themselves out and ran out the room.

"Where are we going?!" Cody panted as he struggled to maintain the taller boy's pace.

The goggle boy turned around to be sure that they were all together.  He met Veemon's eyes grimly before he focused on Cody.  "The control room."

A door up ahead of them slid open and Yolei appeared half dragging a dazed Kari in her arms.  Davis came to an abrupt halt and the others slammed into his back.

"What happened?!" he demanded when he saw the bleeding gash on Kari's forehead.

"Something hit her."  Yolei turned around and Hawkmon came flapping out of the room, followed by Gatomon.  

The feline digimon's fur stood on end.  "Darkness," she hissed, her gloved paws clenched into fists.  "This is the work of the Powers of Darkness."

"We have to get to the control room!"  Davis scooped Kari up into his arms and headed off again with the others in close pursuit.

**************

Ken gripped the arm of his throne and tensed up as another attack hit the base and he was nearly thrown from the seat.  Behind him Wormmon cringed and whimpered.

"Computer, damage report!!"

"Levels seven and eight have been breached.  Power levels have fallen to 63%.   Warning: flooding on levels 6A, 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B, 8C, and 9A.  Isolation procedures have been implemented."

Ken snarled wordlessly and lurched out of the throne as another attack hit.  He staggered and cursed as he made his way to a seemingly invisible keyboard and began to type feverishly.

"Ken!!"  Another jolt sent Wormmon tumbling across the floor.  "Ken, what's hitting us?"

The various screens in the room all displayed different angles of the base and its perimeter, but there were no visible threats.  All that could be seen was the whirling water that surrounded them on all sides.  Ken blinked owlishly at the screens and an expression of horror danced across his porcelain features._   . . . Surrounding . . .?_  "It's not possible!"

The door slid open and the room tilted crazily, knocking the entering Digidestined and their partners off their feet and into a heap in the doorway.  Ken grabbed at a protrusion in the invisible wall and hung on desperately as Wormmon slid forward again his pods frantically clicking at the floor for purchase.

Davis was the first on his feet, still clinging to Kari.  "What's happening?!"

"We're under attack, genius!!" Ken snarled as he released his hold on the pipe and dashed over to his partner, his black digivice appearing in his hand.  "Digivolve!"

"Wormmon digivolve to . . . **Stingmon**!!" 

TK helped Cody and Yolei to their feet.  "Attack?  From what?"

"I don't know."  Ken dashed over to the computer panel again.  "Damage report!"

_"Fire on levels five and six,"_ the computer chimed calmly.

"Damnit!"  The dark haired genius turned around and strode to his throne and began to type something on an arm panel.  "Stingmon, go outside, find out where the hell these attacks are coming from, and get back here!  And if you see that traveler tell him to get up here!"

Stingmon nodded once and ducked out the door, carefully stepping around the Digidestined.  

Davis set Kari down on the ground next to Ken's throne and took off his bomber jacket as TK and Yolei knelt down to help him.  "You don't think that he was near the fire, do you?"  He tucked his jacket under Kari's head to act like a pillow.

Ken dropped down to inspect the girl's wound.  "If he is, then he's already dead.  Those decks have been isolated and are flooded."

Davis's head snapped up and he stared at Ken, appalled.  "You can't be serious!"

Kari's eyes fluttered open.  "Wha—"

"We're under attack.  Look me straight in the eye and don't blink."

"Attack?!"  She tried to sit up, but did as she was told when Ken growled and put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

He stared down at her for a moment then he held three fingers up.  "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three."

He nodded curtly.  "It's just a nasty cut.  You need a bandage, but you'll be fine."  He pushed himself o his feet.

Davis gripped his wrist.  "But Gennai—"

"Is right here."  The traveler strode calmly into the room as the door slid open.  The right shoulder of his robes was torn and bloody and he cradled his right arm gingerly.  

Yolei stared.  "What happened?"

"A wall bit me."  He grimaced in pain as he came up to Ken.  

The former despot looked at him, a slightly pained expression on his face when he saw the nasty gash on his former mentor's shoulder.  "You need to bandage that."

"I heal quickly."  Gennai did a quick mental count to be sure that they were all present and accounted for and then eyed the monitors and scowled.  "What's attacking us?"

Ken sighed and sat down on the throne.  "I don't know."

The doors slid open and a very drenched Stingmon ducked back into the room as the Chosen all began to cluster where they could see the monitors.

The Champion shook his head and water sprinkled off of his antennae.  "There's no one there."

"It's Darkness."

"What?" Kari flinched as Yolei carefully wrapped a bandana around her forehead.  The others all turned to her partner and she pushed herself shakily to her feet, grimacing at the sudden urge to throw up.  "What do you mean, Gatomon?"

Patamon flapped his wings restlessly and took to the air.  "She's right," he piped, round eyes worried and dark.  "There's something here."

Stingmon turned to his human as Ken let out a frustrated hiss.  The others didn't seem to notice.

"That's fairly obvious," Cody murmured, "but how do we stop them?  At this rate, they'll smash us to bits."  Armadillomon cast the boy a mournful look.

Another hit struck the base, making the room shake again.

Ken gripped the arm of his chair and glared at the screen.  "I doubt that."

Yolei frowned at Ken's flat assessment as Hawkmon came to rest on her shoulder.  "What do you mean?"

"It's not trying to destroy us," the slender boy said without looking away.  He pointed at the screens.  "Look for yourself.  We're _in_ the whirlpool instead of above it."

"_What_?!"  Gennai's robes fanned out as he spun around to face the screens again, eyes wide.

"It knocking us into the whirlpool," Ken repeated calmly as he rose to stand next to his partner.  Stingmon growled and Ken placed a soothing hand on his leg.

Another shock slammed into them and the Champion crouched down to steady his human.  Ken grunted as the vaccine's large hand stopped him from falling.

"Oh my God . . ."  TK took a step forward, hands clenched at his sides.

"TK?"  Patamon looked up from where he stood next to Gatomon and Kari.  "TK?  What's wrong?"

The blond said nothing, his narrowed eyes locked on one of the screen.  Ken followed his gaze and blanched.

"What is it?"  Davis looked at them in confusion.

Ken's voice was a whisper.  "It's Devimon."

"What?!"  Kari's head whipped around to stare at the screen they were both watching and Ken unconsciously pulled closer to Stingmon for comfort. Her ruby eyes widened at the half submerged image the monitors displayed.  "But Angemon destroyed him!"

Gennai frowned.  "Digimon don't die.  But that isn't your Devimon either."

TK turned to him.  "Huh?"

"That's only an astral projection based on your fears."

"But—"

**_Hitsoyuki Gennai._**__

Everyone fell silent and stared at the screen in shock.  There came a bright flash and suddenly the image of the leather clad Ultimate was displayed on every screen.  Gennai narrowed his eyes.  "No . . ."

Ken's head snapped to the side.  "Damn you, traveler, wha—"

**_Hitsoyuki Gennai._**  The Devimon grinned maniacally at them from the whirlpool and extended one of his long, misshapen arms.**_  Come home. _**__

The base was rocked by an explosion that knocked them all off their feet.  Cody cried out and Stingmon cradled Ken to his chest protectively.  Patamon and Gatomon were sent sprawling and Kari fell on top of Yolei, crying out in pain as her head hit the ground.  Davis and TK both would have landed on top of Veemon if the little dragon hadn't been knocked down when Armadillomon hit him.  Hawkmon let out a loud squawk of dismay as Gennai fell on him, bending the feather in his bandana.

_"Hull breach in the engine room.  The core has been contaminated.  Core ejection procedures are inoperable.  Warning: Meltdown in T-minus three minutes."_

**_Come home._**__

Ken struggled to free himself from Stingmon's arms.  "The core!!  Let me go, Stingmon, let me go!!"

"No!"  A rafter fell from the ceiling as another explosion rocked the base.  "You'll get yourself killed."

**_Come home._**__

"Stingmon!!"

"No, Ken!"

Davis pushed himself up.  "Veemon!"

"Patamon!!"

"Hawkmon!  Gatomon!!"

"Armadillomon!"

**_Come home._**__

"Davis, where are you?!!"

Gennai stared up at the screen, a look of inexpressible sadness on his face.

"TK!!"

"T-minus two minutes."

**_Come home._**

"Kari, I got you!"

"We have _got_ to get out of here!"

The back wall exploded in a wave of heat as the base was again bombarded.

"Here Ah am, Cody!"

"Everyone get up!!!  We're leaving now!!"

**_Come home._**__

Gennai looked away from the screens.  "Master . . ."

"T-minus one minute."

"Veemon digivolve to . . . **XV-mon**!!" 

**_Come home._**__

TK's head snapped to the side and he cradled Patamon closely in his arms.  "What's that rumbling noise . . . ?"

**_Come home._**__

Ken's eyes widened and he took a step towards the burning, blown out wall.  "Oh, no . . ."

**_Come home._**__

Stingmon leapt towards his human.  "Ken!!!!"

The explosion knocked out the walls of the control room and a gaping hole was torn in the front of the base as metal and chunks of the hull flew outward.  The top part of the base collapsed in and the flaming structure trembled in the air like a drunken bird before heaving a final shudder, a death throe, and plunging towards the gaping darkness below.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	32. What Sad Gods

**______________________________________________________________________________________******

****

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain**  5/31/2001-1/26/2002

****

**__________________________________________________________**

**Vain**: Okay, before you embark on the next four chapters, I just want you to know that I have the cold from hell while I am editing them.  Does that make sense?  Whatever.  I feel horrid.  However, for some ungodly reason, I am determined to make my deadline.  So shut up and enjoy the story.

**Remy**: La pauvre.

**Vain**:  That goes for you, too, Cajun.  Special thanks go to PeaceKeeperAlpha for making sure that chapters 31-34 are coherent.  As usual, I own nothing—which is really just sad given all the time I put into this.  Oh, just R&R.****

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**_~"All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:_**

**_ 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' "_****__**

**-Matthew 26: 31******

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**Part Thirty-One**

"What Sad Gods . . ." 

TK groaned as he opened his eyes.  Cold.  He was wet and cold.  His eyelids fluttered closed again.

"TK!!  TK, where are you?!"

"Patamon?"  He opened his eyes again and forced himself up, grimacing as his body creaked in protest.  Scratch that; he was wet, cold, _and_ horribly stiff.  "Patamon . . .?"  

He winced and looked around.  A stone seemed to settle in his stomach as he recognized the non-light filtering through the dead air to illuminate the utterly forgettable scenery.  He looked down.  He was laying in water . . . thick, black water.  It flowed up around him and lapped hungrily at his shorts, making the ash-like sand a soupy mud that clung to him and seemed to seep into his very pores.  "The Dark Ocean . . ."

He lurched to his feet, panic squeezing his heart and drying his throat.  "KARI!!!"

A flutter of leathery wings answered him as his orange and cream-colored batpig flapped into his view.  "TK!"

Breathless and exhausted, Patamon coasted the rest of the distance separating them and landed in his human's waiting arms.  "We've been looking for you for nearly an hour!"

"An hour?"

"Uh-huh."  Patamon nodded and snuggled down into his partner's arms.  "The others are all just a little bit up the beach looking for you.  C'mon.  It's that way."  A dark paw pointed back the way he had come and they started off in that direction.

TK cast a glance down at the desperate-looking waves for a moment before turning away with a shudder.  "Is everyone okay?"

Patamon fidgeted uncomfortably in his arms.  

"What is it?"

An enormous pair of blue eyes turned to look dolefully up into his.  "We can't find Ken, Kari, and Gennai."

TK stopped.  He felt like someone had just punched him in the stomach.  "What?"

"Ken, Kari, and Gennai are missing," the rookie repeated.

"Hey look!!"  Yolei rounded the bend right in front of them.  TK blinked in confusion as Yolei glomped him.  "DAVIS!!  I FOUND HIM!!"

Patamon let out a muffled squeal of indignation as the enthusiastic Child of Love and Purity squeezed him.  "We thought they'd taken you, too!!"

"Taken?"  TK struggled briefly to free himself and Patamon before they were both crushed.  "Taken where?  By whom?"

Yolei's eyes clouded over.  "Come on.  I think you better talk to Stingmon, Gatomon, and XV-mon."

**************

_Come home, Gennai._

**"Come home."**

The voice was distant and tugged at the edges of the foamy gray dream that held his mind captive.

**"Come home."**

_Home?_  Where was home?  He had no home.  Not since they had taken him away from his home.

**"Come home."**

He'd never liked home anyway.  The Guardians of the Digidestined and the Holy Beasts became his home, his family, his everything.  Until-until-until what?  He couldn't remember.  He needed to remember, though; it was very important.

**"Come home."**

_Go away.  Leave me alone.  _

Home.  Where was home?  _They_ were home.  Them.  And home would always be where they were . . . Kazunori Saito—the servant of the Water Tiger and Guardian of the West and the Chosen of Courage and Friendship, Elaine Barre—the servant of the Earth Tortoise and Guardian of the North and the Chosen of Love and Purity, Denisov Romanovich—the servant of the Firebird and the Guardian of the South and the Chosen of Faith and Knowledge, and Sanghee Kiangtzu—servant of the Air Dragon and Guardian of the East and the Chosen of Light and Hope.  They were home.  The Holy Beasts were home.  This place was not home.  He wanted out.  

** "Come home."**

_Help me._

He wanted out.  He wanted to hear Elaine laugh her rare, gentle laughter.  He wanted to see Denisov grin and tell one of his odd nonsensical stories with his thick Russian accent.  He wanted to watch the way Sanghee's beautiful skirts moved in the breeze as she gathered herbs for the hatchlings in Primary Village.  Most of all though, he wanted to hear his master's gentle baritone roll over the strange barrier between him and the rest of the world and call him back.

_Master . . ._

_Come home, apprentice._

And was that Sanghee?  She had always loved his master so much . . .

_Kazunori?  Kazunori!  Let the boy sleep, beloved._

And Denisov, too?

_Boy?  He's only six years your junior, Sanghee.  Besides, you spoil him, little one._

Elaine . . .?

_And you'll be better when you get your apprentice, Denisov?_

_Help_, he whispered across the barrier.  _Come find me._

**"Come home."**

_Come home, apprentice._

_Help me!  Please!  Master Kazunori!  Sanghee!_

Why didn't they come?  He would be safe if they would just come.

_They're not coming_, a tiny voice whispered in response.  _This is all a dream-a fantasy.  Denisov is dead.  Elaine has gone mad.  Sanghee is gone.  Kazunori is lost to you.  They are all gone, Gennai._

_No!_

**"Come home."**

_They are all gone and you are alone._

_No!  They haven't left me!  They wouldn't . . ._

_They have._

_No!!  You lie!_

_They are gone, Gennai.  Will you go to where they have gone?  Will you follow in your infamous Master's footsteps?_

_No . . . I want to go home._

_They were your home, Gennai.  Remember?  Where they were was home.  The Holy Beasts were home.  They are gone Gennai._

_No . . ._

**"Come home."**

_Your Gods are a sham and your idols are gone.  You have no home._

Gennai opened his eyes and peered blurrily into the off tone light.  All he could see around him was white.  He couldn't move.  Why couldn't he move . . .?

The answer came as a mass of darkness appeared to his right.  He tried to turn his head but couldn't.  He licked his lips and his voice was a croak that seemed offensive and sacrilegious in the hazy white.  "Where . . .?"

The Darkness seemed to swell until it filled his vision-until he was drowning in it.  

"Whu-"

And then a face appeared.  It was a handsome face, a Japanese face.  It was a familiar face-a human face.  It was the face of a man he had seen destroyed long ago; destroyed and replaced by something new-something horrid.  And Gennai wanted to scream, but he couldn't seem to find the sound.

The Dagomon once known to two worlds as Kazunori Saito smiled then—a vicious, cruel expression.  **"Welcome home, apprentice."**

**************

Cody bit his lower lip as he stared at Stingmon's back. He hugged Upamon a bit tighter. "We'll find him," he said quietly.  The tall Champion said nothing and Cody looked away.

"Davis?"  Cody relaxed a bit at the sound of TK's voice as he and Yolei appeared.   The blonde's face was flushed and he looked afraid.  "Davis, where are they?"

Davis looked up from where he was tending to a gash on X-Vmon's leg and frowned.  His chocolate brown eyes were unusually serious and he set his lips in a harsh, firm line.  "We don't know."

Stingmon let loose a low growl.  "Ken-chan . . . I had him.  I _had_ him . . ." He lifted his large hands and stared down at them morosely.  "But they were stronger.  I had him and they pulled him right out of my hands.  He just . . . slipped through my hands."

X-Vmon looked over at the other Champion and his eyes gleamed.  "We'll get them back, Stingmon," he growled.  "But you won't do Ken any good if you go out and do something stupid and get yourself killed."

"He's right," Gatomon said.  She lashed her tail in agitation.  "I saw them take Kari, too.  But this isn't the Digital World.  If you get deleted here, there's no guarantee that you'll be reformatted."

The insect type's wings snapped out and he turned, his antennae whipping around with the motion.  "You don't understand!  I just got him back and now I've lost him again.  I couldn't protect him again!"

"You think I don't understand?!" the feline Champion growled angrily.  "You wouldn't believe what I went through to find Kari.  I actually tried to kill her!  I don't want to lose my human either, but losing it is not going to help anyone!"

For a moment it looked as though Stingmon was going to argue, but instead he simply slumped his shoulders and turned back around without a word.

TK looked from face to face in confusion.  "Who took them?"

Gatomon frowned at him, her large blue eyes betraying her anxiety.  She lashed her tail again.  "I'll tell you.  Me, Stingmon and X-Vmon were the only ones who didn't lose consciousness.  There was an explosion and all this fire came out of the wall towards us.  Stingmon grabbed Ken and X-Vmon grabbed Davis and I had Kari but instead of the fire burning us up when it hit us, everything just went a hazy white color and it got really cold.  You were all out like lights and the others had all dedigivolved except for Patamon, Stingmon, X-Vmon, and me.  We tried to keep hold of you all and stay together, but this wind was blowing and it felt like we were falling and it was really, really hard to concentrate on anything."  Her ears drooped a bit and she bowed her head.  "Then all these black tentacles came out of nowhere.  They latched onto Kari, Gennai, and Ken and just ripped them right out of our arms.  We really tried to hold onto them, but it was so cold and the tentacles were just too strong . . ." she trailed off, looking more and more dejected with every word.  

TK knelt down and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.  "It okay, Gatomon.  I know you did your best."

Davis knelt down on the opposite side of her and grinned.  "Yeah.  Besides, we've been through worse.  At least Ken's not gonna try and feed them to a Deltamon, right?"

Stingmon glared at him, the digimon stared, and TK and Yolei both sweatdropped.

The goggle-boy laughed uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head.  "I guess that this wasn't the best time to bring that up, huh?"

Cody sighed.  "Idiot."

TK stood up.  "So what do we do now?"

Davis frowned out towards the water.  "I dunno.  We have to find the others first though.  If we're gonna face this dark undersea guy, we're gonna need all the help we can get."

"No truer words were ever spoken, Child of Courage and Friendship."

Davis stood up and everyone tensed.

"_Upamon digivolve to . . . **Armadillomon!!**_"

"_Poromon digivolve to . . . **Hawkmon!!**_"

TK looked around in confusion.  There was nobody there.

Yolei stepped closer to the water.  "Show yourself!"

Cody looked around nervously.  "Yolei, I don't think-" 

"Show myself?"  Deep, sinful laughter filled the air around them and the waves seemed to get louder and more aggressive.  "Show myself?  To you?  Very well, little girl."

A small swirl appeared in the water and grew to form a pillar of water standing roughly six feet above the water.  The dark liquid fell away with a crash and revealed a woman with teal hair and terribly pale skin standing on the Ocean's surface.  Her full rose bud lips were set on a bluish white face and her long silky looking hair fell to her waist in long coils.  A tight, long black dress concealed her petite form and fell with careless grace to the ankles of her tiny, booted feet.  It was her eyes that arrested the attention, though.  She had none.  Where her eyes should have bee there were only empty sockets.  A light seemed to glow in them, a glimmer somewhere in the back of her skull that barely shone through.  Her hands were also unnatural.  They were enormous, and every abnormally long cylindrical finger was razor sharp and cruelly tapered.  

She smirked, a cruel expression, and turned her empty eye sockets to Yolei.  "Happy now, Love and Purity?"

Yolei paled and staggered back.  "What _are_ you . . .?"

The woman's smirk broadened.

Stingmon moved forward.  "What have you done with Ken?!"

A look of mock surprise passed over her face and she tilted her head to the side.  "Ken?  Ken?"  A long, razor-sharp finger rose and gingerly tapped her flawless chin.  "Ken, Ken, Ken . . .?"  Recognition dawned on her face.  "Oh!!  You mean the dear little Brat Emperor!"  Stingmon growled and she smiled broadly.  "He's very much alive for the moment.  It's simply amazing what a high tolerance for pain the child has too!  I do believe it was a good half an hour before he started screaming and then of course, we just haven't been able to get the little darling to stop-"

Stingmon leapt at her. **_ "Spiking Strike!"_**

Davis stepped forward.  "Stingmon, no!"

A wall of water rose up in front of the woman and slammed into the insect type as he hurled himself forward, knocking him out of the sky with disturbing ease.  Stingmon was thrown back into one of the cliff walls with a grunt and the water returned to the Ocean.  The woman smiled.

"That was stupid of you, insect."  She walked across the water to come to stand on the beach.  "I was lying; I haven't touched your master yet.  What even makes you think I'll harm him?"

Cody eyed her warily.  "What do you mean?"

She sighed and flicked her hair from her face.  "I have great interest in Ken Ichijouji-interests which are best served in keeping him alive.  He has a great deal of potential."  She raised her fist to the sky and smiled down at him sweetly.  "Of course, the same cannot be said for you."  She opened her fist.  "ATTACK!!!"

Yolei grabbed Cody's collar and yanked him backwards as water surged forward, depositing over fifty slimy, grayish looking digimon on the beach.  Half-fish, half-man, the odd creatures had wide mouths with thick pink lips.  Metal tubes traveled from their mouths and to large metal oxygen tanks strapped to their backs.  A fin adorned either side of their heads and each creature carried a harpoon in its hand.

Cody stared.  "What are those?"

"Scubamon," Hawkmon informed him.  "Although I've never seen them, they are supposed to be fairly useless Ultimates.  They're not very bright.  They're main attack is 'Strike Fishing,' but I'm not quite sure what's it's supposed to do.  They mainly stay to themselves and are supposed to be harmless."  He eyed the creatures warily as they growled at him.  The smell of rotting fish was suffocating and the bird flapped backwards.   "Unless of course they're angry . . . or attacking in packs . . . like now . . ."

Davis glared at the woman as the army of creatures assembled on the beach.  "I don't know who you are, what you want, or what you're talking about, lady.  But I do know two things for sure.  One, you're really freaky, and two, you know where Kari and Gennai are, too!"

She lifted an eyebrow.  "How perceptive," she sneered.  "Why is it that whoever possesses the Crest of Courage is an idiot?"

X-Vmon growled and TK pulled out his digivice.  "That's all I needed to hear.  Patamon . . ."

"Patamon Armor digivolve to . . . **Pegasusmon!!  **Flying Hope!" 

Yolei's glasses flashed brightly.  "Hawkmon, digivolve!"

"Hawkmon Armor digivolve to . . . **Shurimon!!  **The Samurai of Sincerity!" 

Cody nodded to Armadillomon.  "Do it."

"Armadillomon digivolve to . . . **Ankylomon!!**" 

The woman laughed as the digimon moved forward to protect their Children.  Gatomon glared fiercely at the creatures, but hung back.  Without her Tail Ring, she'd do more harm than good in this fight if she interfered with the others and she couldn't digivolve without Kari.  Stingmon pulled himself up and launched himself towards the woman, but was stopped when a dozen of the new digimon leapt up onto him.  He growled and tossed the closest ones aside.

The woman laughed again.  "Entertaining as all this is, I really must go.  I'll be sure to give Light and Kindness your regards."

TK frowned.  "Pegasusmon, stop her!"

"I need Nefertimon!"

Gatomon hissed.

The woman stepped back into the Ocean and waggled her fingers.  "Ciao!"  Water swirled up around her and when it receded she was gone.  

"No!"  TK clenched his hands.

"We have bigger problems, TK!"  Yolei snapped.

"What?"

The majority of the Scubamon who had been milling about anxiously suddenly surged forward, dragging Stingmon down to the ground and leaping up to yank at Pegasusmon's wings and mane.  The horse-like digimon reared.

"Pegasusmon!"

Cody's small hand gripped TK's wrist.  "This is only going to get worse.  We need to stick together."

Davis nodded and pointed to the cliffs behind them.  "Cody's right!  They have us surrounded.  We're trapped."

**************

Ken opened his eyes and grimaced. His hand-the one with the weird brand on the palm-and his neck throbbed horribly.  He felt extremely disconcerted-like he had been spinning around in circles-and his mind was extremely hazy, making it difficult to think.  After the pounding in his head subsided to a dull mamba, he looked around.  "Wormmon?"  All he could see was darkness, but his instincts told him that the room he was in was extremely small.  He pushed himself up and felt a wave of nausea.  "Wormmon?"

"He's not here, Brat Emperor."

It took all of the boy's self-control not to shy back from that sensual voice.  His violet eyes widened and he looked around.  Focusing was very difficult for him and he felt a sharp sting of irritation and frustration.  "Who are you?"

"The past," the female's voice drawled mockingly.

He swallowed hard.  

"I was once like you, you know," his unknown companion continued a bit wistfully.  "Weak, fallible, human, _hungry_ . . . Now, though, you're an insect to me.  You're friends are even less than that . . ."

Ken could be a very patient person when the situation warranted it.  He had ruled an empire, after all, and conquest takes patience.  Ken, however, also had a violent temper, and between the pain running up and down his spine, the throbbing behind his eyes, the burning in his hand, and the gymnastics routine his stomach was doing, he was not feeling very tolerant.   His violet eyes seared the heavy darkness in search of this woman.  "How touching," he sneered caustically.  "I don't care.  Where am I and what have you done with the others?"

Dark laughter rolled to him through the blackness.  "Oh, what a treasure you are, Brat Emperor!  I can see why you were chosen for Darkness now.  Such fire!"

"Chosen?"  Ken looked around, frustrated.  He didn't like not being able to see the person he was talking to-it reminded him of his first trip to the dark whirlpool and he wondered briefly if this was all in his head.  The thought of hearing voices again was not pleasant.  Voices were what drove him to don the garb of the Emperor.  "I made my own choices.  Nobody chose me!"

"Silly Brat Emperor.  Don't you know anything?"

The fear that Ken had buried suddenly leapt up and clutched his heart with icy fingers.  "What are you talking about?"

"Do you really think that you could have come to power without the blessing of something beyond you?"  The voice turned into a venomous hiss.  "You were a tool: nothing more than a game piece in a power struggle that you can't even begin to comprehend.  You _and_ that stupid human who's tampering with the Digital World's Gates.  The Guardians weren't just curious about your power; they used you!  But those fools never imagined that you would transform the Code and block them out.  They never imagined that you would catch the attention of the Dark One."  

"You're lying." Even to his own ears, the whisper sounded weak and forced and Ken swallowed hard.  It was getting harder and harder to focus on her words and his hand and neck hurt horribly.

"Am I?  You don't sound so sure, Brat Emperor.  In fact, you sound a bit frightened.  Are you frightened, Ken Ichijouji?"

He shuddered in the darkness as a chill hit him.  "No."

"You should be."  The damp air next to his face moved and the temperature seemed to drop as cold breath whispered over his ear.  "You should be very afraid.  Do you know why you are here, little one?  I'm not going to kill you, Ken Ichijouji.  I'm here to bring you home." 

The flip-flops in his stomach ceased and something heavy and solid settled deep inside him.  There was no doubt in his mind that she was serious, but he still wasn't afraid even though he felt like he should be.  "Home?"

"This is your home, Ken.  This is where you belong.  Here.  With me."

"Why?"

The woman seemed to stiffen, but Ken wasn't sure.  

"What?"

"Why?" Ken repeated.  It was a serious effort not to turn his head in the direction of the whispering voice.  "Why not kill me?  I'm here to kill you.  I don't want to, but this is just the way things are.  All I want are my memories-my past.  I want to know who I am.  Why I've become what I've become.  If I can change.  I want to change."

"Why do you want to change?"

He shivered as her chill breath caressed his ear and two cold hands slipped around his waist.  She stood, lifting him up to his feet.  "What a tiny little thing you are," she murmured.  "It must be hard for such a fire to burn in such a fragile vessel."

Ken realized that his teeth were chattering and he wished that she would move back and stop touching him, but knew that he would have fallen down without her support.  He was very tired, but he also hated to be touched and her very presence was suffocating him.  "I hate what I am," he told her.

"Why?"

The words were stuttered because of his tremors.  "B-because I hurt people.  Always.  My friends.  My brother.  My partner.  Everyone leaves me.  Sometimes . . . I can't tell . . . I mean . . . It's like I'm not real sometimes . . . like I'm not really here."

"So?  Why should you need others?  Why should you have to prove yourself-your reality-to anybody?"  The woman drew him closer until he was pressed against her and wrapped him in an unbreakable embrace.  "The Darkness is here.  I can feel it.  It throbs within you, a deep well of power that runs through your veins.  This is your birthright.  This is what you are.  Gennai has deceived you.  He did not tell you the whole truth about the Ninth Child.  You are the key to everything-the wild card.  This is why all your predecessors were denied their destinies.  This is why your Crest was halved.  You have the power to destroy them.  That's why they fear you.

He felt dizzy and weak and rested his head against her chest and closed his eyes.  _Why am I so tired?_  He relaxed in her arms and felt all the strength and tension drain out of him.  It felt good.

Her gentle voice slid through his rapidly congealing thoughts.  "Why do you want to change?  You are Power."

"Why don't you want to kill me?"

The woman exhaled deeply and Ken moved with her sigh.  "To save myself.  To save us all.  The Master is mad.  He will destroy us all.  I do not wish to die.  It isn't my time yet.   You will destroy him, though."  Her arm tightened around his body and it was getting harder and harder to breath.  He didn't struggle though.  "You and he are alike.  You should have been one of us from the start."

It suddenly occurred to Ken that he was being slowly suffocated-crushed-in her icy embrace, but the thought was a distant thing that didn't really seem to matter. "I'm so alone," he murmured into her chest in a drugged voice.   "I feel so alone.  I'm so empty . . . I want to be filled.  Tell me who I am?" he pleaded.  Cold trails of tears froze on his face.  It was so cold . . . he was so cold . . . Empty.  Just like that horrid room-that awful, awful lightless room that the Emperor had called his destiny.

"Shh . . ." she whispered.   "Go to sleep, little Emperor.  It'll be alright.  Everything will be made clearer when you awaken.  Just open your heart to the Darkness.  Let it soothe you . . . become you . . ."

Ken's eyes felt heavy and it was far too much of an effort to open them again.  Why was he so tired?  

The woman tightened her grip and he felt his ribs creak.  Spots and bursts of color began to explode behind his eyelids.  He was so tired . . .

A sudden, white-hot pain shot through his aching hand, up his arm, and attacked the throbbing in his neck and along his spine.  His eyes snapped open and he screamed, jerking out of the surprised woman's arms.  Light wrapped around him, burning all the way through to his soul.  It hurt, it seared, it felt like his veins and arteries were being torn out through his skin one by one.

Sanghee stumbled backwards and raised her arms to shield her non-existent eyes as a brilliant white light engulfed her would-be victim.  She knew that light-it was the Light of Miracles.  But she had personally gone after the Digimental of Miracles and found it missing.  She also knew for a fact that neither Ichijouji nor Gennai had had it.  It hadn't been anywhere near the base!  _So then how could he possibly . . .?_  The Light around him grew brighter and until he was floating a good foot off the ground.  _How could he possibly . . .?_

The woman staggered back towards the door and grappled for the door handle.  This Light . . . it was far too much.  This human was far too much!

The door boomed shut, cutting off that horribly intense Light, as she fled the room and tripped over her own skirts, falling down backwards.  She groaned as she hit the ground hard and stared at the door.  "What was _that_?" she murmured in amazement.

Inside the room, the Light extinguished as soon as the door slammed shut and Ken collapsed on the floor in a heap.  He ached everywhere and was gasping for breath, but somehow he felt cleaner, clearer, like the fog had been burnt away from his mind.  After the pain faded and he could breath again, he rolled over to lay flat on his back on the floor and stared up into the blackness.  

Ken knew that he should be upset.  He knew that he should be afraid.  He knew that he should feel _something_.  Anything at all.  Anything.  But he didn't.  He was empty.  The leaden feeling in his stomach remained and he felt old.  

"What's happening to me?" he whispered emotionlessly.

The darkness offered him no reply.

**************

Power flared somewhere close by, tugging urgently at Kari's mind and drawing her back to reality.  It was warm and vibrant, but with a dark throbbing undercurrent that both fascinated and repelled her.

_Kari . . . you have to wake up now._

She cringed back, feeling something in her soul leaning eagerly towards that odd blend of Light and Darkness.  It felt familiar-like something she needed, but had never felt until this moment.  It reminded her of when she first met TK.  

_Kari!  You need to wake up.  They need you_.

Her mind recoiled, not understanding the nature of this power or the sudden longing it inspired in her.  Then it was gone, as suddenly as though someone had turned off a light.  A dull hollowness replaced the need then and for the first time since she had found Gatomon, a sense of anticipation and incompletion filled her.  She stretched out her mind in instant regret, silently pleading for that power to return.  It did not.

_Kari!  It's time to wake up now, Kari.  They need you.  Please . . ._

Kari opened her eyes.  "Tai . . .?"  Her head hurt.

A boy stood in front of her, maybe fifteen years old.  Wild light brown hair stood up on his head and a pair of green eyes stared at her, sober and morose.  He shook his head, blurring his delicate features in her mind into something indistinguishable.

"Who-?"

A pair of rough white-gloved hands arose on either side of her head and it suddenly occurred to Kari that she was strapped to a wall.  Then she realized that she could see through the hands.

A scream lurched up from the center of her body, but became lodged in her throat when the mysterious boy moved one of his hands slightly.

_None of that now_, a voice murmured in her mind.  _None of that._  A pained expression danced across his face and she longed to be able to focus on his features.  Tears of fear, pain and frustration sprang to her eyes and slid down her cheeks.

She sensed a wave of sorrow from the boy then and realized that he was upset because she was crying.

_I'm sorry_, he murmured in her mind.  _We never wanted to be like they are, Gennai and I.  We never wanted to hurt you all like they do.  But we really don't have a choice-none of us have choice, not even them.  Kazunori and Sanghee are trying to do it again, Kari.  They've taken Ken and Gennai as well.  If they cannot convert you, they will kill you._  He put both his hands on her skin and it felt like being stabbed by ice.  _I'm sorry, _he said again_, but you must know the truth.  This is what they are-what this all is.  This was their failure, just like Ken and Anya, but this time they couldn't make it better or make it disappear.  I'm sorry._

The girl wanted to tell him that it was alright and that she wasn't angry, but the words seemed to get lost somewhere between the terrible pain in her head and the awful cold of his hands.  He seemed to frown then and the fingers against her temples suddenly _pushed_.

_You must understand, Child of Light.  There is the Oath, there is the Code, but there are and will always be the Prophecies before everything.  Understand them, and you have the key to everything._

A new voice came then, not the boy's but something as old and deep as the very earth itself and Kari's mind recoiled from it in terror.

_No!!  I don't want this!!  Please!!_

But the voice ignored her and it began to speak, a deep throbbing in her mind etching its words were etched indelibly into the substance of her soul.

**_'In the beginning, not the beginning, but a beginning,_**

**_There shall be Four, and Four, and Eight,_**

**_But fear of the one that should have been-_**

**_The Fifth-will overcome these sacred bonds._**

**_Because of this, the Ninth, the one that should not have been, will be begotten._**

**_Begotten of Light and Darkness, Hope and Despair, Courage and Cowardice, Friendship and Isolation, Purity and Impurity, Love and Hatred, Knowledge and Ignorance, Faith and Doubt,_**

**_This Ninth Crest-a Miracle, a Disaster-will be the weakest and the strongest._**

**_This one will destroy them all._**

**_And out of the Code, through the Oath,_**

**_Those that should have been Light and Hope and Courage and Friendship will rise._**

**_They will rebel against their Masters._**

**_They will murder their kin._**

**_They will bring darkness to the Binding Land_**

**_And there will be no peace in any realm_**

**_And Light will fall to the wayside until the lost one returns to the fold._**

**_And then a terrible light will shine in a Darkened land,_**

**_And upheld by the Eight, a Ninth shall rise,_**

**_Born for the Light, felled to the Dark, and risen again._**

**_And then a Miracle shall strike the Darkened Land-the Binding Land-_**

**_Like the outstretched hands of the Gods_**

**_And the long forgotten power of the Sacred Triangle will once again summon _**

**_The Dragon of the Worlds-a lightform born of all Powers and Spheres_**

**_ And the strength of the bones of the earth itself._**

**_And then there shall be a peace upon the land,_**

**_Cold and empty as the Guardian who brought Darkness to the worlds,_**

**_Benighted and torn as the Child who shall bring Light._**

**_And this peace will not be a peace, but a silence,_**

**_For this is only the beginning, another beginning in the cycle of death.'_**

And a thousand memories were shoved directly into her mind.  If Kari had been capable of coherent thought at that moment, she would have tried to scream.  Not that it would have mattered: the sound never would have made it past her throat.

**************

"Why are you doing this, Kazunori?"  Gennai's sad eyes stared into the Darkness that was both his prison and his Master.  "Why are you pursuing this insanity?!"

**"Insanity, apprentice?"**  The face floating in the shadow twisted horribly for a moment, before exaggerated creases of psychotic laughter once more transformed it. ** "You call this battle insanity when it is you who obeys the whims of the mad Holy Beasts.  The same Beasts who chained both us and you and the Tamers and Chosen to a dark fate without hope of escape or peace?  And yet you would call me mad?"**

Gennai's face hardened against the tears he felt swell in his eyes.  "You killed Denisov.  You drove Elaine mad.  You joined with the tainted Dagomon and waged war against the Holy Beasts-those same High Gods you swore to protect.  You lured Sanghee, Anya, and Ly Le away from the path of the Chosen.  You tried to kill Takada.  You split the Worlds and very nearly destroyed us all!"  

His voice began to rise with every word and anger and betrayal bled into his speech and facial expression.  "It was by your actions and yours alone that the hatred that became Apocalamon was allowed to grow and spread.  It was you that awoke the Millenniumon from his long slumber.  How, when you're faced with all this blood on your hands, can you dare call the Masters mad?  They made you all that you were!  They took you from a world that feared your potential, your gifts, and brought you to a new one!  How could you _do_ this?!_  How could you do this to **me**?!"  _The young man collapsed back into the darkness again, as though all his strength had been drained by that final, desperate scream.

The Dagomon laughed again darkly.  **"So much anger, apprentice?  Are you sure that you aren't angry at someone else?"**

Gennai glared.  "You abandoned me.  You betrayed me.  Yeah.  I'm pretty sure that my anger is being directed at the right person."

**"Even after what they've made you do?  It was them, after all, that made you give the order to Digi Tomamon to kill Anya and foil my plans.  It was the Guardians, not me, who ordered that you abduct Ryou and delete Ichijouji's memories.  It was the Guardians who ordered that you not interfere with the young Emperor when he began to rise in power in the Digital World, even though they knew of the Spore growing in his body.  They knew that he had been to my world.  Yet you are angry at me?"**

Gennai turned away and bit his lip.

Kazunori smirked**.  "You've seen what they do, both to humans and digimon.  Every creature that encounters them is scarred.  They allow evil to run rampant in the Digital World and destroy those who would do good, all in the name of a supposed 'balance!'  They manipulate others as though it were no more than a glorified game of chess!  They squabble amongst one another like children fighting over a doll rather than like High Gods who must decide the fate of two worlds!  How are they just, apprentice?  How are they right or true to the causes for which they demand your absolute obedience and loyalty?!"**

"We were told-"

**"We were told, we were told-we were deceived!!  We were lied to and used and would have been discarded if we had not rebelled, just as you and the child they took to be your apprentice will be one day!  Denisov and Elaine did not see that, so they had to be destroyed.  I had hoped that you would see through their lies during the first battle and side with the right side, but you did not understand then, even though you knew we were in the right."**

Gennai looked up and his eyes hardened to sheets of glass.  "What are you talking about?"

The face floated down closer to Gennai and a cold breath whispered in his ear**.  "You saved us.  They were going to destroy us, our Digidestined, the Chosen we were sworn to protect, were on the brink of destroying us in the name of their corrupted Gods.  And yet you saved us.  You knew that we were on the side of good, Gennai.  You knew that we were doing what was right.  _That's_ why you couldn't let them kill us, Gennai; you knew the truth."**

Gennai recoiled.  "The right?  The truth?  Good?  You don't even know what those words are!!  I spared you out of weakness!  I spared you out of pity and some faint vestige of love I once felt for you before you destroyed everything!  You were never right!"

Something slapped him in the Darkness.  **"Have they really brainwashed you that much?!"**

"And what about the Oath, Kazunori?"  Tears slid down Gennai's cheeks and he stared downward so that they were hidden.  "You swore to an Oath.  Your life, your soul, was bound for eternity to the will of the Holy Beasts."

**"Oath?"**  Kazunori's face reared back.  **"The Oath?!  The Oath is dead!  Only the Lie remains!!"**

Gennai sneered.

The face lowered once more.  **"Join me once more, apprentice.  You should be my heir, standing proudly by my side against the Holy Fools, not standing by them with your head hung in shame fighting against me.  You know what you have to do!  You know what is right!"**

Gennai looked up and his feature softened infinitely.  He nodded slowly, a faint smile grazing his lips.  "You're right, Master.  I do know what I have to do."

Kazunori smiled in triumph and it seemed that the Darkness around them pulsed hungrily, eagerly, as though it were opening his arms to him.  

Gennai blinked slowly and leaned forward.  "I heard something once, in a movie or something."

The creature narrowed his eyes and the Darkness seemed to tremble.

"Sometimes, you just have to do what you're told, Master.  That's who we are.  That's what we are.  Without that . . . we are nothing but shadows-outcasts without a world and without a purpose.  Go to hell, Kazunori Saito."

The Darkness slammed close around them and for an instant the man become Dagomon stared at his former apprentice, unable to conceive of this betrayal.  Then pain exploded out of every cell in Gennai's body.  The Darkness muffled the sound of the scream and Kazunori leaned forward again.

**"Only if you come with me."**

And then there was nothing.

**************

A loud creak intruded upon the warm emptiness of his awareness and a solid bar of light cut through the darkness as the door swung open again.

"Back so soon?"  His voice echoed hollowly in the darkness.  He tried to turn his head so that he could see her, but his body refused to cooperate so all he could do was stare straight up at the black ceiling.  

". . . Ken . . .?"  The voice was hesitant and feather soft.  

"Kari?"  Ken turned his head slowly and squinted at the slight form silhouetted by the light.  "Kari, what are you doing here?"

She entered the room quickly, her slender body moving rapidly to where the boy lay prone on the floor.  The Child of Light knelt at his side and pressed a hand to his forehead.  He peered up at her face, struggling to catch a good look at her in the darkness.  

"Are you alright, Ken?"  She tried to pull him up.  "What happened?  Can you move?"

"How-?"  He couldn't see her face.  That bothered him for some reason.  Why wouldn't she just let him see her face?

"Hush.  We have to get you out of here.  We need to find the others."

"Kari, I don't think that-"

"Lean on me, Ken."

And she sounded strange too, like there was somebody else using her mouth and they weren't quite comfortable with it yet.

"Kari, let me go.  There's something wrong."

"Damnit, Ken, quit arguing with me!  I promised him I'd look out for you, didn't I?!"

Ken ripped himself out of the girl's arms and shoved her backwards as he scrambled to his feet, eyes wide and his breathing suddenly harsh and loud in the chill air.  Kari hit the ground with a cry of pain and a dull thump and Ken pressed himself against the wall.  His heart was hammering in his chest and his stomach was clenched into a tight ball, but somehow the physical panic didn't touch him emotionally.  His eyes flicked from Kari to the door and he began to wonder if he could move past her fast enough to escape.

Kari pulled herself to her feet and glared at him peevishly from across the cell, pouting in a most becoming fashion.  "We don't have time for this, Ken.  The others need us."

He tilted his head to the side and licked his lips.  Clinically, he wished that he had the emotional capacity to laugh at the moment; this all struck him as being terribly ludicrous.  His head was beginning to ache again.  "Who are you?"

Kari let out a hissing sigh.  "Do you always have to turn everything into a big production?  You weren't like this before."

A shadow fell across the entrance and two heads snapped in the direction of the door.  Sanghee stepped into the cell and looked from one Child to the other.  He empty eye sockets narrowed.  "And just how did you two manage to do this?"  She glared at Kari and her fingers seemed to grow impossibly longer.  "Naughty little child . . . You do realize that you'll have to be punished for this, don't you?"

A small, totally uncharacteristic growl of disgust slipped out from between the dainty lips of the Child of Light and the girl took a step towards the former Guardian, her delicate hands balled into fists at her sides.  She tossed her head to the side in an absent motion, flicking an errant strand of hair from her eyes.  "Listen, bitch, because I am NOT going to repeat myself.  We are leaving and you are going to get out of our way, Sanghee.  I know who you are.  I do not like you.  You do NOT want to piss me off right now, understand?  Move."

Ken lifted an eyebrow and Sanghee paled with fury.  At least he wasn't the only one who had lost his mind today.

The taller woman stepped forward-"You little-" and Ken leaned back against the wall.  This was going to be . . . interesting.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	33. And the Truth Will Make You Free

**______________________________________________________________________________________******

****

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain**  5/31/2001-1/26/2002

****

**__________________________________________________________**

**Vain**: *sighs*  Here's more.  Yay.

**Hisoka**: What are you so depressed about.  

**Vain**:  Leave me alone, Soka-chan.

**Hisoka**:  Why aren't you happy?  You're done.

**Vain**:  But—Oh, I don't know!

**Hisoka**:  Baka.

**Vain**:  Just Read and Review, ne?****

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**_~And about the ninth hour [He] cried out saying,_**

**_"Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is,_**

**_"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"_****__**

**-Matthew 27: 46**

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**Part Thirty-Two**

**And the Truth Will Make You Free**

**_"Strike Fishing!!"_**

Yolei grabbed a Scubamon that ventured too close and threw it back into the crowd.  "This isn't working!!!"

**_"Star shower!!"_**

****

**_"V Laser!!"_**

Another scubamon tried to attack them only to be met by Gatomon's glove.  **_"Lightening Paw!!"_**

Davis frowned as several of the creature leapt onto XV-mon's back.  "Well, I'm open to suggestions!"

**_"Double Stars!!"_**

****

**_"Tail Hammer!!"_**

"Pegasusmon dedigivolve!"

"What?!"  The horse-like vaccine looked at TK in confusion.  

"You can do more good as Angemon!  Are you strong enough to go Champion?"

He nodded, tossing his mane, and rose up higher than the scubamon could reach.  There was a faint glow and the proud Armor digimon returned to his rookie form and coasted his way over to the shrinking circle where the Children stood.

Patamon settled down in front of TK.  "Ready!  _Patamon digivolve to . . . **Angemon!!**_"

The newly evolved Champion instantly turned his back to the Children and glared through his mask at the oncoming mass of blue-gray.  **_"Hand of Fate!!"_**

Small bodies went flying as a bolt of light shot from Angemon's fist and tore a path straight through the scubamon to the edge of the water.

Ankylamon pulled himself up.  "Nice shot!" he congratulated.  **_"Tail Hammer!!"_**

Scubamon scattered.

Stingmon broke free of a crowd of the creatures and took to the air. **_ "Spinning Spiking Strike!!"_**  The fast-paced series of kicks made several of the creatures explode into a burst of digital data.

Yolei gasped.  "Stingmon's destroying them!"

"Well, what do you expect?"  Gatomon glared at the red-eyed scubamon surrounding them.  "If I was out there, I'd be doing the same."

The Child of Love and Purity stared at her in horror.  "But they're living creatures!!"

**_"Angel Staff!!"_**  The blond angel turned and frowned sadly at the girl from beneath his mask.  "Sometimes you don't have a choice, Yolei.  In this situation, there are simply too many of them to scare away or knock out on an individual level."

"Angemon's right, Yolei," TK said quietly.  "It's never easy or pleasant though."

"Stingmon doesn't seem to be having any qualms," she snapped.

"Stingmon," Angemon countered as he wielded his staff at the other digimon, "tend to be rather ruthless when it comes to protecting what they consider theirs, and Wormmon's loyalty to Ken is unquestionable."

Gatomon lashed her tail.  "If I could digivolve or had my Tail Ring, I'd be doing the same."  Another scubamon tried to slip past.  **_"Lightening Paw!!"_**  It was sent flying.  "I wish I could digivolve to Angewoman!  These creeps would be kitty litter!"

**_"Hand of Fate!!"  _**Another wave of light shot from Angemon's fist.  

Cody ducked as sand flew at him.  "There's just too many of them!!"  

Then everything stopped.  The scubamon stopped surging forward, the digimon stopped fighting, and everyone turned towards the Ocean.  It was the water.  It looked like it was _boiling_.

Davis stared.  "That's it.  Now I've seen everything!"

Far out in the water, something big and dark began to rise up, pulling free of the water.  The scubamon let loose a strange, strangled moan all at once and turned and began to dive into the water.

XV-mon took to the air.  "They're getting away."

Shurimon gripped his throwing stars tightly and leapt up to land protectively in front of Yolei.  "I think that we have bigger problems now.

His human looked out at the Darkness rising in the Ocean.  "What is that thing??"

Gatomon growled and all her fur stood on end.  "Hey, Stingmon!!"

The insect type looked down at her curiously.  

She looked up at him grimly.  "Give me a boost, huh?  I want to see that thing."

He obligingly landed and crouched down low to the ground so that she could climb onto his back.  Once she was securely on his shoulder, he lifted off, flying out towards the Ocean.  TK and the others all watched anxiously as their partners came closer, hovering protectively over their charges.

"What are they doing?" Cody demanded, shading his eyes with one hand.

TK watched the two digimon fly out over the waves, his blue eyes shining with concern.  "Gatomon knows more about digimon than anyone else here as far as I know.  If anybody can identify that thing, she can."

Stingmon shifted a bit to protect his cargo against the wind.  "Is that what I think it is?"

The towering digimon in the water seemed to skim the surface as it moved inordinately forward, some of it's tentacles trailing behind, bound by two black metal bands into separate sections of squirming flesh that appeared to have once acted like legs.  The skin seemed to sag off its body, barely hanging onto the muscle tissue underneath. Two burnt-looking, stunted wings protruded from its back, but they looked rather useless, and the digimon appeared to lean over heavily so that its face hung down low.  Two red eyes stared out and pulsed like gaping wounds in its flat, formless face and the entire monstrosity was black in color and reeked of both power and death.  

The eight tentacles in the front were unbound and hung before the creature heavily like a burden.  One of them was wrapped around an enormous bone white trident with code running up the center prong.  Another was firmly wrapped around a white bundle that was held high above its head like a tattered trophy.  Stingmon considered trying to get a closer look at it, but had no desire to endanger Gatomon by risking an encounter with that nasty-looking creature and its trident alone in the middle of the Ocean.

Gatomon lashed her tail in agitation and the wind caught the purple tips of her ears and blew them slightly back.  "Only if we're both thinking the same thing.  That looks like Dagomon; he's an Ultimate undersea virus, but I've never actually seen one, have you?"

The insect shook his head.  "Ken did some research into rare and mythical digimon, but the database didn't have a picture of Dagomon, only the file. But I don't really think that it should look like that.  Something doesn't feel right here.  Let's go back and see the others.  Something's going on."

The feline nodded in agreement and Stingmon turned around and headed back towards the beach.

**************

Sanghee eyed the Child of Light uncertainly.  "You're not Yagami, are you . . .?"

"Well, you're certainly quick on the uptake," the girl snapped.  "You know we don't have time for this right now, Sanghee, so either move or you'll be moved."

Ken narrowed his violet eyes and cocked his head to the side.  He heard something . . . grinding . . .  "I do so hate to interrupt you ladies, but what is that noise?"

They both glared at him, but Sanghee suddenly raised one of her hands in a motion for quiet.  For an instant nobody moved and gradually a scratchy grating noise became evident.  Sanghee dropped her hand.  "So it's really started."

"You'll lose, you know," Kari said in an almost conversation tone of voice.

The woman turned back to her and smiled sweetly.  "That depends on whose side you're on, little girl.  Who are you really?"

"Your replacement."

"You?"  Sanghee's eyes widened in amusement.  "The living spirit?  _You're_ Gennai's apprentice?  Oh, this is just too amusing!  Do your precious Guardians know you're here?"

Kari frowned and took a step back towards Ken.  "What are you playing at, witch?"

"Temper, temper, little girl.  I don't know who you are, but I do know that if you were still in Miss Yagami's body when she met an . . . unpleasant end that your soul would be forced to transcend with hers.  I doubt that the Holy Beasts would be pleased."  She turned to Ken.  "Now, come along, little Emperor.  We have to be going."

"I'm not going with either of you," the indigo-haired Child stated flatly as he tried to think of some way to get out of the room without them following him.  "And quite frankly I wouldn't much care if this ceiling came crashing down on all our heads right this second."

"If you keep stalling, it just might," Sanghee snapped in return.

"What are you trying to do?!" Kari ground out.  "You know Kazunori can't win this fight!"

Sanghee laughed and both the Children shuddered.  "Oh, _I_ know that and _you_ know that, but he doesn't have a clue."

Kari paled.  "You-you're turning from him?!"

Sanghee flicked a long strand of teal hair out of her eyes.  "Well, you're certainly quick on the uptake," she drawled carelessly.

And then Kari started laughing.  Both Ken and Sanghee stared at her with narrowed eyes.

"You thought . . ." she sputtered between gales of laughter, "you thought you could take _him_ as a replacement?!" she hooted, pointing to Ken.

Ken took a step away from both women, his gaze flickering between the two of them.

Sanghee's face twisted in anger.  "So?  He and Kazunori are the same.  Their pride, their goals, their ambition, their powers . . . Everything that Kazunori was is in Ichijouji-even the Spore makes them the same.  When it comes to fruition-"

"_That_ is **never** going to happen!" Kari snarled, a look of rage twisting her face.

Ken looked from face to face.  "Spore?"

They both ignored him. 

"So you say."  

"Yeah."  Kari whirled around faster than Ken would have thought possible, grabbed his right hand, and jerked the boy forward holding his palm so that Sanghee could see the brand.  "So I say."

The woman's mouth dropped open like a gaping fish and first shock, then fury, transfigured her face.  "You little-"

"Down!!"

Kari threw Ken to the side and landed on top of him as one of Sanghee's hands slashed the space they had just occupied.  She smiled at Ken and he stared in awe at what he saw reflected in her eyes.  "Trust me, Kenny-boy."

It was the image of a boy with spiky brown hair and white gloves-

Gennai's words came back to him in a rush.  _"Kari has the ability to see and channel spirits . . ."_

The Child of Kindness and Miracles smirked unpleasantly.  "Alright then."

The two children rolled in opposite directions as another hand slashed the ground, tearing up stone and producing a grating noise where her claw got caught in the rock.  Sanghee jerked against it futilely and turned her eyeless sockets to track Kari's movements, hunched low to the ground and keeping her other hand free, the clawed fingers splayed wide.  Her hair fell into her face and she bared her teeth like a fox caught in a trap.

Kari blinked for a moment before pulling up from her defensive crouch.  "You're stuck, aren't you?"

Sanghee snarled something unintelligible.

Ken stared for a moment in shock and then threw back his head and laughed. This was ludicrous.  This was beyond ridiculous.  "You're stuck?!  You got your claws stuck in the floor?!  You idiot!!  You don't have any power at all, do you?  All you've got is an empty head and scary hands!  No wonder you needed me and the Dark Undersea Master-you're useless!"

"I am not useless!"  She lunged towards him, but was jerked to a sharp halt by her arm.  She groaned in fury and frantically tried to work her hand free.  "I have the Sight, Brat Emperor, and I know what Destiny has I store for _you_!"

He jerked back as though he had been bitten.

"Why do you think I came after you, Ichijouji?  You were chosen by the Darkness for the Darkness-you can't change that or hide from it like a coward!  It goes against your very nature.  I know the darkness that lurked your heart long before you donned the garb of the Emperor-I know the hunger in your soul-that same hunger that pit you against your own broth-"

 _"You__shut up!"_

The scream cut through the air and froze them all.  Even as the Emperor, Ken had never, ever, ever screamed like that.  Never.  And the sound of it was like breaking glass in a quiet room.  Kari stared, shocked.  He inhaled deeply and tried to calm himself-whatever coldness had wrapped itself around his heart was gone, evaporated by her words.

"You shut up," he hissed in a deadly cold whisper.  "You know _nothing_ about me-nothing at all."

Sanghee smiled and sat up as best she could.  "How you must have relished it-the way the light shone off the blood . . . Did he scream, Ken?"

"I told you to shut up," he hissed, taking a menacing step forward.

"Ken, let her go!" Kari ordered as she moved to intercept him. The girl stepped between them and gripped his biceps.   "She's no threat now; she just wants to get under your skin."

"I've seen your past, little Emperor.  And I know your future!"

"Ken!  We have to _go_!"

His eyes flickered from one female to other for a moment before he suddenly relaxed and gave Kari a tired nod.  "I . . . You're right."  He looked back down at Sanghee and his lips twitched towards a contemptuous smirk.  "She's not going anywhere anytime soon."

The woman paled and tried to jerk her hand free once more.

He gently took Kari's hand in his own and walked around the glowering woman to the door.

"You don't know what you're missing, Brat Emperor," the woman snarled as he opened the door.  "You have no idea."

He turned around and his eyes scanned the floor for a moment before he looked her over coldly.  "You really have something to say?"

She nodded and Kari stopped in the doorway and frowned at them both.  "Ken, what are you-?"

He shoved the girl out the door, slammed it tight behind him, and quickly bent down.  His nimble fingers seized a small stone and wedged it in the corner of the door, effectively jamming it shut.  He turned his attention back to Sanghee.  "Talk then."

Kari's small fists beat on the other side of the door.  "Damnit, Ken, this isn't funny!!  I'm on a time limit here!  I can't stay here forever!!  Ken?!  Ken, you open this door right now!!  Ken!"

He stepped closer to Sanghee and put both his hands on his hips, careful to stay out of range of the woman's free arm.

She smirked.  "And what could I say that you don't already know?  You are a fraud, little boy!  You may as well not even be here.  You say you want your memories, but you're the one who locked them away!  You say that you want to change yourself, but it's your denial that prevents you from doing so!  Do you really want to know what's in that room in your head?  It's not darkness.  It's not emptiness.  It is the future."

A boom sounded, as though Kari had thrown her entire body against the door and her reedy voice carried over through the walls.  "Ken!!  Ken, please!  Don't listen to her-you can't trust her!!  She just wants to use you!  Ken!"  The beating stopped then, as though the girl's small frame had simply been screamed out.

Ken watched Sanghee with narrowed eyes as she continued, her smile still fixed firmly in place and heedless of Kari's pleas.  "I've been in the white room, seen the debt you owe to those you loved-those whom you destroyed.  I've spoken to the child you abandoned on the beach that day you put the broken digivice into the water and sold your soul-the same soul that was claimed long ago.  I've tasted the blood of your victims, felt the delight, the hunger, that you felt when you did all those terrible, terrible things."  Her voice dropped to a whisper.  "Those things that you crave and dream about . . . those things that you lust for more than life's breath . . . It felt so good didn't it?  Watching them scream like that . . . watching them foam at the mouth and kick until they were still . . . And you hated them all-everyone for what they did to you, didn't you?"

A look of pain contorted Ken's face and he took a step back, covering his ears with his hands.  He shook his head rapidly and squeezed his eyes tightly shut.  "No . . . it wasn't like that . . ."

"But it was," Sanghee interrupted him gently.  "It was and you loved it all.  And you crave it, too . . . the way their soft skin yields, the way they screamed when the whip fell . . . And now what are you?"  Her mouth twisted and she spat out the next word: "Ordinary.  Now you're nothing and nobody, utterly forgettable, just like everyone else, aren't you?"

He shook his head rapidly, unable to block out the truth in the words.  "No . . ."

"But you're not really, are you?  I can hear what you've heard.  I know the darkness that you are-that you've tried so hard to deny.  It feels so good, Ken.  It feels like love all over . . . and you want it.  We all do.  That's why we're different from all the rest-stronger."  She worked her fingers carefully, trying to free herself.  "We know the Darkness and are not afraid of it.  You understand now, don't you?  You and Kazunori are the same, only you can control it.  You know better than to lose yourself in it.  It's a part of you-not you.  I've seen the wires cutting into your skin, seen you bound to that stake in the dark room, bathed in your own delicious blood.  I tasted it.  I heard you beg for it.  You belong to it."

_Stake?_  The youth shook his head in an attempt to clear away the confusion.  "No."  The word was flat and hard.  "No," Ken repeated.  He looked at her.  "I'm not like you, like that.  Not anymore."

"You are exactly like us, Ichijouji!  You are an abomination-just like us!!  Hmph.  The way you are now, you may as well not even be real-utterly forgettable."

Ken flinched and his features froze into a harsh mask.  "No."

"Yes!  It could be you up there now-fighting for what's yours by right of power!  It was you once!  You're no Chosen Child.  You are a lie.  You knew that once, when you created your reality.  That's the truth-the truth your brother knew and the truth the Emperor lived by: nothing is real.  So what does any of this matter?

"You couldn't save your brother, you couldn't save Ryou and his partner, you couldn't even save your own partner from yourself . . . why are you even trying?  Don't you know that nothing you can do will matter?  The Chosen don't need you-look how well they've done without you!  No, Ken . . . Why put yourself through all this torment?  Serve yourself!  For once in your life, stop trying to be what everyone else wants!  There is no reality but what you make."

The boy clenched his hands and then opened his right palm and looked at it.  The Crest of Cruelty-he knew that that was what it was down to the very marrow of his bones.  He stared at it for a minute, vaguely aware that Sanghee was talking again, but unable to hear her.  

His palm tingled.  His throat burned.  He didn't understand this and knew that there was some truth to her words, but lies rang through painfully loud, hiding somewhere there.  He didn't know what he was anymore-who he was.  He was a Digidestined.  He was a tyrant.  He was a genius.  He was a gullible fool.  He was the Child of Kindness and Miracles.  He was the epitome of Cruelty and hypocrisy.  He was a monster.  He was an abomination.  He didn't understand this at all.  But the one thing he knew, the only thing that he had to cling to, was that somehow, for some reason, he was not the same as what she said.  He could not be the same-for better or for worse.

Then something seemed to mesh inside him-it felt like he had brushed something awesome and inconceivable-like the face of god.  And he knew that he was close to something.  He knew that this path-Sanghee's claims-were not quite right.  So he looked up at her and interrupted her in mid sentence.  

"I don't know what I am.  I don't know if what you're saying is true.  But I do know that I am Ken Ichijouji, and whatever else I may be or display, I am perfection.  I have to be.  It's all I have, you see.  It's a promise that I made to Osamu."

He pointed his left hand at her and opened his mind in way that he had only done in the Digital World-in a way he hadn't known was possible outside of the Digital World-and felt for something in the air.  When he found it, he smiled a gentle benevolent smile that few people in his world had ever seen.   "And we are _not_ the same."  He reached into the air and mentally _pulled_ at something.

And then Sanghee Kiangtsu burst into flames.  

Ken stared at he emotionlessly for a moment as a scream tore its way free from her throat and then frowned pensively.  The flames were hot and burned extremely fast and the heavy smoke that rose up into the air soon lost the scent of burnt hair as her flesh was devoured.  Her screams bounced off the walls and echoed back, horribly loud.  

"Yet you thought that you could challenge the Holy Beasts and nearly won?"  He shook his head.  "How pathetic.  What sad gods you all are." He walked around the flaming, shrieking woman towards the door and carelessly kicked loose the makeshift door stop.  The acrid scent of burnt flesh was overpowering.  "Fools, really."

The door boomed shut behind him, cutting off Sanghee's last screams.

For a long moment, Kari merely stared at him in the shadows of the hall.  Then she slapped him so hard that the entire world seemed to flash red.  He looked up at her, remorse nowhere evident on his face.  "You would have done the same, Tamer.  Don't think I don't recognize you in Yagami's eyes.  You would have done the same and we both know it.  What would have happened if she lived?"

Kari—the spirit inside Kari—turned away, blinking back tears.  "I won't let her remember this if you can get her out."

"You can't come with us?"

Kari shook her head.  "I've been here interfering for far too long.  If my presence were discovered . . ." She drifted off and Ken was silent for a moment.

"How do we get back?  Where are we?"

Kari turned back around to face him.  "Give me your digivice."

He wordlessly pulled the little machine out and handed it to her.  The black color seemed to startle her, but she accepted it anyway and began to punch in numbers.  "You're under the Ocean in some sort of stronghold.  Kazunori's magic maintains it, I think."

"And this Kazunori is the Dark One?"

"No!"  Kari looked up sharply and frowned.  "That's a misnomer.  The Dark Undersea Master is a result of a spell preformed by the Guardian of the West.   His name was Kazunori Saito.  He thought the he was destined to stand against the Guardians, so he tried to steal the power of a Ultimate digimon called Dagomon.  The spell failed and the two ended up merging.  Unfortunately, both wills survived and Kazunori has been continuously fighting the virus.  The continuous struggle has only driven him further over the edge and impaired his judgment.  He's been fixating on Gennai-that's why everything's gone so wrong.  Well, one of the reasons, anyway.  We thought that things were going to be the same as the last time, with armies and legions and great battles.  Instead, Kazunori's dying-already dead; all you have to do is bury him."  

She looked back down at the digivice and resumed typing.  "This is all wrong-this should have been foreseen . . . Do you remember when the Digiport opened at the camp site?"

Ken blinked rapidly as he tried to process all that.  "Yes.  What do you mean-?"

"No questions," she snapped.  "Kari will explain everything later.  Now pay attention.  Gennai didn't open that-he used your energy to open it for him.  You've been opening independent portals the entire time you've been going to the Digital World and in that first instance you came to the Dark Ocean.  Now you have to focus that energy and do it consciously.  It's the exact same as pulling the elements out of the air, only instead of looking for an element, you're trying to feel the flow of space itself as it moves around you.  You need to concentrate.  Once you've found it, instead of reaching out directly into the flow and bending it, you have to send your will through the digivice and draw the flow into the digivice.  After you do that, the digivice will do the rest."  She stopped typing and handed the device back.  "Understand?"

Ken's lips twisted into a wry smile.  "Would it matter if I did?"

Her face softened then and regret shone clear in her eyes.  "No.  No, it wouldn't."  She looked away and bit her lip.  "I'm sorry, Kenny-boy . . ."

"I know."

They stood in a heavy uncomfortable silence for a moment before Kari looked back up.  Her expression hadn't changed, if anything it had only grown more intense.  "But that was still monstrous."

Kari collapsed and the boy had to move quickly to catch her before she hit the ground.  He stared into her face for a moment; she could have been sleeping.  Tears shone in Ken's eyes and he blinked them back.  "I know.  And I'm sorry, old friend, but what else could I do with her?"

The girl's eyes fluttered open then and she looked at him weakly.  "K-Ken . . .?  How . . .?"

"Don't worry about that.  A friend found you and brought you here.  He's gone now.  Can you stand?  We have to hurry now."

"I . . ." She struggled weakly in his arms.  "I think so . . . My strength is coming back now I think."  He helped her stand and she swayed for a moment before she was standing strongly without help.  She looked up at him and her eyes were dark and shadowed.  "I know what they are, Ken.  Sanghee . . . Kazunori . . . I saw them . . ."

"I know . . . and Sanghee's dead."

Her eyes widened and he stepped slightly in front of her, his digivice extended.  "Not now.  There'll be time for this later.  Things aren't what they seem to be; Kazunori's dying."

He heard the girl speaking and felt her tugging at his shoulder, but ignored her.  He opened his mind again and felt for the elements.  His mind brushed against the barren space where Sanghee died and he quickly pulled away.  When he found the silvery trails of power he was looking for he dug deeper, seeking the swirling energy they traveled on.  He gasped involuntarily when he found it, his mind unable to comprehend the sheer immensity of the power he felt.  He bent his will into his digivice before he could lose himself in the stream.  "Digiport open."

The air rippled, and then warped, and then seemed to twist as a hole was opened to the beach.  Ken stared through the hole in the air for a moment as Kari came to stand by his side, surprise on his face and confusion on hers.

"Well . . . It worked."

She gave him a hard look.  "You _will_ explain this later, right?"

A flash of something green appeared in the distance on the other side and Ken suddenly scowled, grabbed her hand, and stepped through the opening without responding.

The Portal hissed closed behind them.

**************

The two Champions landed on the beach silently and Gatomon leapt to the ground.  Davis frowned at her as X-Vmon shifted uneasily in the air.  The digimon out in the water was fully revealed now and it simply stood there, waiting for something, its tentacles twisting and writhing together.  The be-goggled Child of Courage and Friendship raised his eyes to stare at it for a moment before looking back down at Gatomon again.  "Well?"

The feline lashed her tail unhappily.  "It's a Dagomon-an Aquatic Man Beast Digimon.  His major attack is Thousand Waves.  Dagomon are vicious anyway, but there's something more here.  Something's not right with this digimon."

Then a new voice cut through the whispering waves and expectation, cool, clinical, and utterly in character.  "That because it's not a digimon."

A second voice spoke up, completing the explanation.  "Not anymore at least.  His name was Kazunori Saito.  He was a the Guardian of Courage and Friendship."

For a moment nobody moved, unable to believe what they were hearing.  Then everyone was moving at once.  Yolei nearly knocked Kari down as she threw herself at the slender girl and Ken stumbled backwards as the others surged forward.

"Kari!!"  Gatomon shot forward and launched herself at her human, joy and relief shining her eyes.  The girl chuckled and scooped the feline up in her arms, hugging the Champion tight.

A large hand reached down and gently lifted Ken up so that he was eye level with Stingmon.  The cynical genius surprised everyone by smiling and wrapping his arm around the big insect's neck.  "I missed you too, my friend."

"Hey guys . . ." They all turned to see Davis frowning darkly out over the waters.

Kari's face twisted worriedly and they all spread out, unconsciously taking up defensive positions.  "What is it, Davis?  Do you see something?"

"Yah."  He pointed out towards the waves.  "Is it just me or is that Dago-thingamajig getting closer?"

TK narrowed his eyes and then turned to Kari and Ken.  "I take it that's the Dark Undersea Master?"  They both nodded and he sighed and turned back to the Ocean.  "Of course it is.  Can't we ever fight anything small and cute?"

Stingmon gently set Ken down on the ground and lifted up in the air, his wings beating rapidly.  The former Emperor ran a careless hand through his hair and smirked at TK.  "Where's the fun in that?"

The blond tossed him a sour look.

Kari set Gatomon down.  "Ready?"  

The vaccine nodded and set her mouth in a stern line.  "It's about time!"

"Digi Armor Energize!!"

"_Gatomon Armor digivolve to . . . **Nefertimon!!**  The Angel of Light!_"

They had all taken up defensive positions and were prepared to fight when Yolei suddenly frowned at Ken and Kari and broke the mood.  "Hey, where's Gennai?"

Ken tossed Stingmon a worried look.  "Wasn't he with you?"

The digimon shook his head negative and Ken cursed under his breath. "Nothing can ever easy, can it?"

**************

A large pair of red eyes narrowed as the former man moved forward at a slow and steady pace.  **"Sanghee . . . My love . . . They'll pay for what they've done to you . . . I swear it!"**

A soft groan arose from somewhere and the Dagomon shifted until a tentacle came into view.  It was wrapped around a man in a dirtied white robe.  Gennai opened his eyes blearily and Kazunori shook him violently.  **"Do you hear that, apprentice?  Your little pets are going to pay for killing my Sanghee . . . and I know just what I'll do, too . . . After all, Gennai, an eye for an eye."**

The man glared hatefully at his former Master.  "There's no way their partners are going to let you close enough to the Children for that to happen."

"Who said I was going to kill one of the Children, apprentice?" 

Gennai swallowed hard.

**************

Osamu watched the two forces as they came in contact worriedly from his place near his brother.  He couldn't reach Ken, Gennai was a no-show, and Kari's powers were exhausted to the point of almost being burnt out.  All of the Chosen were exhausted, especially the three most of this was riding on, and he knew that things were only going to get worse before they got better.  There had been too many errors and miscalculations on everyone's part.  Osamu had not foreseen his old friend's interference, or Sanghee's foolish error.  

Nor had he foreseen his little brother intentionally and willfully killing another human being.  That had come as a nasty shock.  He was beginning to see what Ryou had so tirelessly warned him about when he had been alive-there was far too much of Osamu in his little brother and that frightened him badly.  That was something he was trying to protect Ken from and he had failed miserably.  

The spirit closed his eyes and wished that none of this was necessary, that he could go back and undo all the things that he had done.  This never should have happened.  

_Ototochan, I'm here for you._

Kazunori stopped at the very edge of the water and the Children and their digimon all held back, waiting for something.  Osamu hovered anxiously, knowing that he would need to act soon.  The soft exterior of the huge Ultimate seemed to pulse and his red eyes glowed.  The tension was palpable. 

**************

Cody's lips drew into a thin line as the Dagomon came to a halt at the edge of the water, the trident held before it like a shield and the white thing in its grip held high. The other Children unconsciously pulled back towards the cliff wall, but the smallest of them stayed where he was.  "Why are you doing this?" he muttered.  A noise that was a cross between a growl and a groan left the boy's lips and he clenched his hands and glared up at the black blob in front of him.  "Why are you doing this?!"

The sound of the child's voice seemed to startle the digimon for a moment and it halted abruptly, barely twenty feet from the beach.  The others had retreated to halfway between the cliffs and the surf and stared at Cody with something close to abject horror.

Ankylomon tried to get his partner away, but Cody stepped aside undeterred.  "Cody-"

The smallest of the Digidestined never took his eyes off of Dagomon.  There was no fear there, merely anger and some sort of deep sadness that looked like pity, but wasn't.  Ankylomon heaved a sigh and tried to look as menacing as possible from his place by his boy's side.

"Why are you causing all this misery?" he demanded with righteous fury.  When no reply was forthcoming, the boy took another step towards the monster in the water.  "Why?  There's no point!  There's-"

The trident in the Ultimate's tentacles was suddenly driven upright into the waves where it stabbed at the sky, the bone white disconcerting against the dull gray.  Dagomon seemed to draw himself up. **"Why do you stand against me, Child?"**

Cody stared back at him wordlessly, his breathing harsh and loud.

The white bundle in the creature's tentacles was dropped to the sand where it landed with a dead thud and a groan.  It shifted and twitched and slowly pushed itself upright on its forearms to slowly blink in the dull light.  

Kari's whisper was barely more than a breath, but clearly audible.  "Gennai!!"

Cody felt more than heard Ken moving towards his former mentor, but he didn't dare take his eyes away from the enemy.  His legs were rooted to the spot and despite the need to run forward and grab the traveler, he remained frozen. 

Gennai's stop Ken with a glare.  He looked awful, bruised and bedraggled with blood and dirt encrusted on his normally sparkling robes.  "No, Ken!"

**"Your guardian had nothing to present against my might but lies and treachery."**

Cody opened his mouth to speak, but the digimon before him seemed to convulse then, as though a powerful bolt of electricity had struck it and then it did something totally unexpected.  It turned inside out.  

Of all the things Cody would ever remember from his time as a Digidestined, Dagomon's metamorphosis would have to one of the single most horrible things he was to see.  The stunted wings on his back began to flap, sending sand and water outward in small waves.  The bound tentacles rose off the ground, exposing the Ultimate's black, leathery looking underbelly as they lifted and the creature somehow seemed to flip over in mid air so that the tentacles were on the ground once more, its head was covered, and what had once been hidden was now exposed to the faded gray light.  It had literally turned upside down.

For an instant it seemed as though Dagomon was finished, but then the smooth exposed top appeared to throb like an angry wound and then there was a distinct popping sound as what appeared to be the upper half of a man tore its way free of the digimon, violent and painful as any birth could be.  Thick viscous fluid flowed from the torn flesh.

Cody's jaw hung a bit slack as the half-man, half-Ultimate pulled himself upright and turned to stare down at him.  His cheekbones were high and well defined and his nose had a distinctly aristocratic build.  Slanted black eyes stared down into Cody's.  The iris color was not black-there was no iris.  There was nothing except a large pupil floating in rotten yellow sclera.  

The child slowly clenched his jaw and swallowed hard against the dryness in his throat.  "What-"

**"Why do you stand against me, Child?"**  The voice did not thunder as it had before, but it held the same depthless Darkness as before.

Cody's voice was hard and uncompromising despite his deathly pallor.  "Because you are an abomination."

He didn't see Ken flinch.

Laughter boomed out, a cruel an unnatural sound that put to shame any other horror that Cody had experienced in his short life.  **"_I_ am an abomination?!"**  The laughter sounded again, and Cody grit his teeth, clearly not amused.  **"_I_ am an abomination?  NO!"** The laughter was gone now and a single tentacle snapped out, cracking like an enormous whip, and pointed across the beach. **"That . . . _creature_ there is an abomination!"**

Cody turned and was somehow not surprise to see the slimy appendage pointing to Ken.  The dark-haired genius stiffened as though struck and then bared his teeth in a parody of a smile; his canines shown too prominently for it to be mistaken as genuine.  His left hand was scratching at his right palm with thoughtless compulsion.  "I am _nothing_ like you."  It was a caustic hiss and Cody flinch at the sound of it.

"You are exactly like me!" 

"You-" For a moment it looked like Ken would choke on the insult lodged in his throat.  His nails dug painfully hard into his right hand and he sputtered for an instant before a shallow gasp calmed him and he sneered: "You are nothing.  You seek to fight the Holy Beasts?  With what?  Your lover is dead and you yourself are dying!  You're already dead, Kazunori-can't you feel it?"

The man's face twisted**.  "My . . . beloved . . ."** A look of outrage further distorted his normally handsome face.  **"It was you!"**

A smirk transformed Ken's face into an uncomfortably familiar mask.  "Oh, you're certainly clever."

A dull, wrenching groaning noise filled the air and Cody began to back up slowly when he realized that Kazunori was the source.  The tentacle slithered back like a wounded snake and the water around Kazunori churned restlessly.

Ken's amethyst eyes narrowed as he drove on ruthlessly.  "You should really thank me, though . . . After all, she was just going to leave you to die.  And you will die, Kazunori.  You're going to die for all the horror that you've forced us to endure if nothing else.  You're going to die because killing you is going to be mercy for everyone-penance.  Besides," he paused and flipped his hair out of his eyes.  

Davis tried to ease forward without being noticed.  Ken's little show of temper was not helping anyone, least of all Cody and Gennai who were far too close to the enemy for the wild-haired boy's tastes.  "Ken-!"

The former despot's left hand was scratching madly at his right palm and a flow of red was visible, but he didn't seem to notice as his smirk broadened to something that could have been angelic if not for the gleam in his eyes. "I really don't like you."

Gennai's head snapped up again and his eyes locked on Ken's face.  He knew that look-he had seen it before, on his own face, on Anya's face, on Kazunori's face, on Elaine's face.  He _knew_ that look.  It was the look of someone who was about two seconds away from losing his mind.  And something inside Gennai's heart broke at that look.

_"One day you're going to fail Ken.  And I don't mean a test or playing Emperor.  I mean FAIL-as in lose everything.  One day you're going to break.  Then you'll understand."_

And then everything happened at once and Davis began running towards them, pausing only to grab Ken's arm and throw him carelessly back towards the others.

A whistling noise startled Gennai and his eyes flickered from Davis to the air above him just in time to see something long and dark shoot past him-two tentacles.  The first was moving like a lash and hit Ankylomon before anyone could even register the movement.  The second, slower, one was pointed like a spear.  And it was headed straight towards Cody.

Somebody was screaming.  

Instincts older than Gennai knew kicked in and he immediately pulled upon every last reserve in his body and mentally reached out and _twisted_.  It was a small spatial warp, just enough to get there and knock Cody out of the way.  But it was nowhere near enough to move again.  It wasn't even close.

Cody's had barely enough time to hear the tentacles flying out at him before something knocked him down to the ground.  The gritty sand flew up into his eyes and he cried out in pain and the resultant burning sensation shot through him instantly.  A grunt sounded and he knew without opening his eyes that Ankylomon had been hit.  What he did not expect was the strange liquid noise that immediately followed, or the wet spray of warmth that hit him, splashing his face and clothing.

"No!!"

"Gennai!!"

**_"V-Laser!!"_**

****

**_"Rosetta Stone!!"_**

He tried to force his eyes open, but someone grabbed him and jerked him off his feet.  Davis's voice sounded close behind him.  "Christ, don't look!"

**_"Hand of Fate!!"_**

**_"Spiking Strike!!"_**

****

**_"Tail Hammer!!"_**

"Davis, let go!"  Why was everyone yelling?

**_"Forbidden Trident!!"_**

What was happening?

"Davis, what's happened?"

**_"Double Stars!!"_**

****

**_"V-Laser!!"_**

A choked sob was his only reply.

"Davis!!"

He was literally dropped onto the ground.  Tears slid down his cheeks as his eyes tried to clear the sand out and he forced them open, the battle more important than the discomfort.  He felt sticky and couldn't quite make his eyes focus.  Someone was running towards something on the beach, a flask of white moving towards something else.  A blur of brown ran after it and it sounded like Yolei.  It sounded like she was screaming out Ken's name.

He blinked painfully and rubbed his eyes.  "Ankylomon?!"

**_"Hand of Fate!!"_**

**_"Forbidden Trident!!"_**

Someone grabbed him and jerked him to the side as he blinked uncertainly.  A loud boom was heard and something fell to the ground he had just been standing on.

He stumbled and cried out in blind confusion.  "Ankylomon!!"  Then he felt a creeping horror and despair as a buzzing warmth was felt at his side.  There was only one sensation in any world like that: the energy of his digimon's current digivolution returning to his digivice.  And judging by the amount of energy he felt, Ankylomon was now Upamon.

Kazunori let out a bark of laughter as the first digimon fell and didn't rise.  X-Vmon let out a growl of fury at the gloating monster and darted forward.  Human form or no human form, he was getting really tired of this thing.  The move however, did not go unnoticed and Dagomon's bone trident came up and slapped him away like an insect.

Ken pulled Gennai's crumpled form up into his lap, oblivious to the blood soaking into his clothes, and stared down into the man's eyes.  They fluttered open and blinked at him uncertainly in the dead light.  

"That . . . really . . . hurt . . ."

The boy began to tug at him, flinching involuntarily as sand flew towards them when one of the digimon hit the ground nearby.  "Shut up."  His voice was trembling.  "We need to get away from here before we're killed."

X-Veemon growled again and peeled himself up off the ground.

Davis's voice cut through his frustration like a bell.  "You have to work together!!"

The Champion turned to the beach to find his human and was stunned to Angemon go flying past him, his hand slack around his staff as he glowed with the light of devolution.

Gennai looked into his former protégé's eyes and smiled faintly at the wild denial and confusion he saw in them.  It seemed to fit the child's face, somehow.  

He coughed and tasted blood and convulsively gripped Ken's hand hard.  "Destiny . . ." the words were a painful rasping noise, "is not etched in stone, Child.  It . . . is a path . . . with a fork at every step . . . He's wrong-you're not like him . . . But you could be . . ." It was getting harder to see, but he could feel four Presences close by—strong magic.  He wasn't going to die this day.  "But you have so much potential."  He closed his eyes and felt himself begin to fade from that place, unaware of the soft keening sound that Ken emitted.  "The Masters are bringing me home . . . Be good, Kenny-boy . . . Be strong . . ." 

He felt Ken's hands fade from his own and reached longingly towards the Presences he knew were calling him away.

Something slapped X-Veemon hard in the back and he felt his own strength flee as he and Stingmon both flew towards the cliffs.  He closed his eyes and felt an explosion of pain the instant he returned to Demiveemon's form.  He didn't hear Leafmon's cry of pain next to him.

Shurimon slammed into Nefertimon with similar force and they both slammed into the beach with crushing speed.  The Armor Digimon of Purity instantly returned to Poromon, but the light around Nefertimon flickered intensely for an instant as she struggled to maintain her shape.  When she gave up, Salamon lay still and lifeless in the sand.

Ken's eyes widened as Gennai began to glow faintly and he was so shocked that he was barely aware of Stingmon's energy returning to his obsidian digivice.  He didn't feel the spirit near him, nor did he hear it's frantic pleas for him to breath and stop fighting.  He was aware that the battle had been lost, but he couldn't seem to move-the hot blood on his clothes, his hands, had welded him to the ground until he and it were all the same substance and all he could do was stare in horror as his former friend and betrayer's data broke down into raindrops of light that rose towards the sky.  He didn't hear Dagomon's laughter.  All he saw was the traveler vanish like so many others had before-right in front of his very eyes-and all he felt was a terrible void inside and the same old, tired throbbing in his hand-a pain which grew with every breath. 

**************

Osamu tried to reach his brother, tried desperately, but was unable to batter down the shield he had erected. 

_Take it, Ken.  Remember your promise, and just take it!!  It's yours now. It's yours by right, so just stop fighting it before you kill yourself!  You made me a promise, so don't you dare forget it now!  They need you . . . they need you and you have to do what you promised . . . you have to do what I said . . . Ototochan, please!  Just remember what I told you.  . . . Ken . . . Let it go.  Please . . . just let it go . . ._

**************

Ken's palm throbbed horribly and spots danced behind his eyes.  He was vaguely aware that he was screaming but somehow that seemed far less important than the god-awful pain in his hand.  It hurt.  It itched.  It burned.  It ached.  It felt like his skin was boiling off of his palm.

Arms wrapped around him, pulled him up off the ground to his knees.  A voice called out over his.  "Ken!"  

Who was it?  _Takeru . . .?_

"Ken, stop it!"

A whisper sounded in Ken's mind.  A youthful voice, a familiar voice.  It was a voice he once knew-a voice he **should** know._  // Take it, Ken. //_

He tried to close his mouth, but couldn't.  It HURT.  Somewhere next to him he could hear the others calling out, someone's voice . . . Takeru held him so tightly he thought that he might break in two.  But the pain . . .

"Ken!  I've got you!  We're not leaving you, Ken.  We won't leave you."

And there was that voice again, so close . . ._ // Take it, Ken.  It's yours now.  It's yours by right. //_

Who- 

_// Take it.  . . . Ken . . . //_

_Take what?  Please . . ._

"We're here, Ken.  It's alright!"

"We're here."  

Davis? 

It hurt so bad.  It was unbearable.

_I don't understand.  Oh, god, please . . ._

"We're together."

Kari? 

_// Ken . . . //_

_Help me . . ._

"We're here."

_Yolei?_

_// It's yours.  Just . . . let it all go, Kenny-boy. //_

"Come back, Ken."

_I don't know how . . . _

"Ken.  We need you, Ken.  Please.  Whatever you're fighting, let it go . . ."

Takeru, I can't! 

"Ken . . ."

_Kari . . ._

A cool voice broke though the darkness around him, wrapping him up in its gentle confidence and lifting him away from that awful pain.  "Let it go, Ken.  Let it go.  I believe in you."

Who . . .? 

"I believe in you, Ken."

_// Let it go. //_

And so he did.  For the first time in years, Ken let it go.  Fear, guilt, anger, cruelty, grief, all of it; he just . . . . let it all go.  And when he opened his eyes, he saw the Darkness.  He saw the Light. 

"No more."

**************

TK watched in horror Gennai vanished.  For an instant Ken stared down at his empty lap, his mouth open in shock.  Then, the boy suddenly tossed his head back and shrieked, violet eyes screwed shut, back slightly arched, and his mouth open wide.  He rushed to the indigo-haired boy's side.  "Ken!"

He wrapped his arms around the slender boy's waist and jerked him up to a kneeling position, squinting when the cry didn't stop.  Ken was scratching desperately at the palm of his right hand, the apparent source of his agony.  TK sucked in a sharp breath when he saw the brand on the center of the other boy's palm.  How . . .?

**Sean:  The How should be italicized if it's TK's thought.

Ken's sharp, well-manicured nails were beginning to cut through his skin.  It seemed as though he were trying to rip the brand off.  "Ken, stop it!"  He grabbed at the trembling youth's hand and pulled it away.

Violent shivers racked the other's frame and he just wouldn't stop _screaming_.  Dagomon was laughing.  Tears slid down TK's cheeks.  What to do?  What to do?!  The others cradled their limp partners in their arms.  Where was Patamon . . .?

Everything just wouldn't stop.  It all blurred together and seemed to drain Takeru's strength.  He couldn't move.  He couldn't breathe.  _Oh, my god . . ._

_// Help him! //_

The blonde's head snapped up at the sharp rebuke.

"Who-"

_// Ken . . . //_

"Ken?" the blond repeated stupidly, still looking for the unidentified voice.

_// Hope!! //_  It was a mental shriek of frustration.

Takeru looked back down at the boy in his arms.  Ken was phasing.  But where to?  _We're already in the Dark Ocean._

Gatomon's words came back to his mind.  _"People who shift into other dimensions normally do so because they have nothing to hold them in their own dimension."_

_Nothing to hold them . . ._

The words were flying out of Takeru's mouth before he could even think of them.  "Ken!  I've got you!  We're not leaving you, Ken.  We won't leave you."  

A small distance away, Davis's head snapped up from Chibimon when he heard TK's voice.  _They're . . . They're glowing._  The two boys were glowing.  Not their Crests, but the boys themselves, were glowing. 

The Dagomon had noticed that phenomena, too, and looked none-too-pleased by it.  The tide surged as he prepared to make another strike.

Davis jumped as his guide's voice suddenly screamed in his head.  _// Help them! //_

The leader of the neo-Digidestined half pulled, half drug himself to his feet.  He spied Kari a small distance away holding Salamon's limp form and sobbing and stumbled over, hold his partner close to him.  He reached down to grip her wrist.  "Help them!"  The boy yanked her viciously to her feet and whirled around, still holding Chibimon with his free hand.  His chocolate brown eyes were hard as he raked them over the stunned and burnt out forms of Cody and Yolei.  "HELP THEM!"

He threw Kari down next to TK and then staggered down to sit beside Ken.  

The young girl pushed herself up and caught a good look at Ken and TK's face.  The blonde's expression was frightened and anguished as he tried to hold Ken.  The indigo-haired youth was phasing and trembling and his lips were stretched wide around a horrible scream that didn't seem to be ending.  The two of them looked like they were barely holding on . . .

"We're here, Ken.  It's alright!" Takeru whispered.  It looked like he was the only thing stopping Ken from shaking himself apart. 

**"No!"**

His blue eyes flickered up and met Davis's brown ones as the other boy fell to the ground next to him.

**"NO!"**

 Davis threw him free arm around Ken's waist.  "We're here," he murmured. 

_They aren't even Blessed_, Kari realized suddenly.  A wave of shame swept through her.  They weren't Blessed and yet they were still struggling.

Kari hugged TK close to her.  "We're together."

An immense wave rose out of the water.

Yolei had Poromon and Patamon in her arms.  She sat down in the sand beside Davis and rested her head against his shoulder.  "We're here."

"We're here, Ken.  It's alright!" Takeru called again, desperation and panic tingeing his voice.  

The other boy had stopped fading and his image was solidifying with the addition of every Digidestined.  He was still trembling, however—still struggling. 

Cody set Leafmon and Upamon down on the ground and knelt next to Ken.  He placed his tiny hand on TK's and looked at the quaking genius.  His voice was quiet and grave.  "Come back, Ken."

Ken solidified.

"Thousand-" 

"Ken.  We need you, Ken.  Please.  Whatever you're fighting, let it go . . ."

Tears slid down Kari's cheeks.  "Ken . . ."

Cody watched Ken and felt a sudden pain contract his heart.  "Let it go, Ken.  Let it go.  I believe in you."

A massive shudder wracked the boy's body and then he was completely still.

"Waves!!!" 

The enormous wave exploded outward towards the huddled group of children and unconscious digimon.  At that instant Ken's eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright.  

He extended his bleeding right hand towards the coming darkness and his words were calm and emotionless.  "No more."

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	34. A Miracle of Light and Hope

**______________________________________________________________________________________**

****

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain**  5/31/2001-1/26/2002

****

**__________________________________________________________**

**Vain**: And here it be.  The moment you've all been waiting for.  *starts playing "Y'All Ready For This?" and dances around, displaying her total lack of rhythm*

**Ken**: This chapter . . . This is just so touching.  *sobs and hugs Osamu*  I love you, 'Niichan!!   

**Osamu**:  *also sobs and hugs Ken*  I love you, too, Kenny-boy!!

**Wormmon**:  *bursts into tears*  Oh, Vain-chan!!!  Kaiser!!!  I love you guys!

**Vain**:  *sweatdrops and turns up music to block them all out*  This is so embarrassing.  Quit it you three!!

**Kaiser**:  *twitches and starts fingering his whip as Wormmon clings to him and continues professing his undying affection*

**Vain**:  Um . . . I don't own anything you recognize.  Please review, ok?

**Kaiser**: *twitches again*  Someone get this . . . _thing_ off me.  Now.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**_~The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, _**

**_and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned._****__**

**-Matthew 4: 16**

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**Part Thirty-Three**

**A Miracle of Light and Hope**

_"Am I real, Oniisan?"_

_"Yes, Ken."_

_"Really and truly?"_

_"Yes, Ken."_

_"Oniisan?"_

_A sigh.  "What?"_

_"How do you know?"_

_" . . . Because I love you and I couldn't very well love you if you weren't real, could I?"_

_"I love you too, Oniisan."_

_"I know."_

_"I love you best."_

_A smile then.  "I know.  But how do you know if I'm real, Kenny-boy?"_

_"Because you're perfect."_

_"What?!"_

_"You're perf-"_

_"Hush.  You don't know what you're talking about."_

_"But-"_

_"There is perfection in balance and only in balance, ototochan-remember that.  I'm not perfect."_

_"But-"_

_"Ken-chan?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"If I ever go away, if I'm not here, you'll always try to be good for me, won't you?  You'll be perfect if I can't be, won't you?"_

_"I don't think I understand, Oniisan."_

_"Just promise me."_

_"I promise._

**************

_"You'll be perfect if I can't be, won't you?"_

_"There is perfection in balance and in balance alone, ototochan-remember that."_

_"There is perfection in balance."_

_"Perfection in balance."_

_"Perfection."_

_I am not weak.  I am not afraid.  I am Ken Ichijouji.  I am perfection.  I **will be** perfection!  _

_"I believe in you, Ken."_

_I will be perfection._

**"No more."**

**************

At first, the Light seemed to come from everywhere at once, but it was obvious that Ken was the source.  Then it slowly spread to the huddled group of Children on the beach, and then it further became localized to the outstretched palm of the Child sitting in the center.  His words fell softer than a feather straight into the inferno of the battle.  And then everything finally seemed to stop.

The dark wall of water bearing down on them seemed to pull back away from that terrible Light in the boy's palm and Kari's eyes widened with an odd blend of horror and realization.  "And then a terrible light will shine in a Darkened land, and upheld by the Eight, a Ninth shall rise, born for the Light, felled to the Dark, and risen again.  And then a Miracle shall strike the Darkened Land-the Binding Land-like the outstretched hands of the Gods, and the long forgotten power of the Sacred Triangle will once again summon the Dragon of the World-a lightform born of all Powers and Spheres and the strength of the bones of the earth itself.  And then there shall be a peace upon the land, cold and empty as the Guardian who brought Darkness to the worlds, benighted and torn as the Child who shall bring Light.  And this peace will not be a peace, but a silence, for this is only the beginning, another beginning in the cycle of death."

TK's jaw dropped.  This just wasn't possible . . .

The Light flickered.

"No!!"  Kari leaned forward and gripped TK wrist.  "We have to have faith in him!  We have to believe that he can do this or else he won't believe in himself!!  The only way that he can open the Crest of Miracles is if he draws on all of our Traits within himself!  He won't do that if he doubts himself!"

TK stared at her.

"Kari's right!" Cody yelled over the rushing water.  "We have to Faith!"  His digivice instantly began to glow a pale blue color at his side and the child jerked back, startled.

Chibimon's eyes opened.  "What . . .?"  The little blue digimon perked up and he turned to Davis.  "Davis?  I feel stronger."

Minomon and Upamon both opened their eyes and looked around in confusion before they each threw themselves at their respective partners.  

"Ken-chan!!"

Poromon flapped frantically to get Yolei's attention.

Salamon stood up and blinked curiously.  "I can feel my strength returning."  Kari stared at her partner in confusion.

Upamon bounced up and down in the sand.  "It's your light, Cody!"

The smallest of the Digidestined pulled out his digivice and frowned.

Davis' head snapped up and he stared at Cody for a moment.  "That's it!!"  He pulled his own digivice out and held it up to the sky.  "We have to have the Courage to stand up for our Friends no matter what!"  His digivice began to glow and a dark blue and an orange-red beam of light shot into the sky.

The Light in Ken's palm pulsed.

Yolei smiled, understanding blossoming on her face.  "We have to Love one another and keep our hearts Pure."  Her digivice flared and two beams of light, one red, one green, shot out to merge with Davis'.

Cody held up his digivice.  "We have to have Faith in and Knowledge of ourselves and each other."

A light blue beam and a purple beam joined the growing rainbow in the sky.

"We have to be willing to bring Light to the dark places."  Kari's digivice added a stream of pink to the sky.

TK closed his eyes and raised his digivice.  "We have to carry Hope in our hearts."

Golden light flew upward, creating a fantastic kaleidoscope of power beneath the dark clouds.

Ken didn't move and Minomon pushed one of his little flippers against his human.  "Ken . . ."

The former despot's voice was barely a whisper as he stared beyond his glowing palm at the sky.  "We must be Kind.  We must be merciful.  To ourselves as well as everyone else.  We must balance the Light and the Darkness."  

Soft pink light rose into the sky and there came a sound like thunder, like the fabric of the world was being torn asunder, and a bright pure white light poured downward and hit the light in Ken's outstretched palm like a spear.  The Child of Kindness and Miracles tossed his head back and for a moment looked like he was going to scream, but instead he only let out three words that sounded like a sigh before he fell backwards into Takeru's arms again.  "Golden Armor energize."

_"Pabumon digivolve to . . . **Patamon**!!  Patamon Golden Armor digivolve to . . . **Rhinomon**!!"_

_"Poromon digivolve to . . . **Hawkmon**!!  Hawkmon Golden Armor digivolve . . . **Peacockmon**!!"_

"Salamon digivolve to . . . **Gatomon**!!  Gatomon Golden Armor Digivolve to . . . **Maildramon**!!" 

_ "Upamon digivolve to . . . **Armadillomon**!!  Armadillomon Golden Armor digivolve to . . . **Elephamon**!!"_

_"Demiveemon digivolve to . . . **Veemon**!!  Veemon digivolve to . . .**Magnamon**!!"_

_"Minomon digivolve to . . . **Wormmon**!!  Wormmon Golden Armor to . . . **Kongoumon**!!"_

A rainbow shimmered in the sky, banishing the dull gray light and replacing it with something else-something pure-the essence of the powers of the Digital World.

Yolei stared at her Golden Armor digimon, a tall bird-like creature that seemed carved from blue crystal.  He stood upright on two legs and his enormous blue wings were fully extended in front of Yolei and seemed to glitter with a thousand prisms.  The girl's eyes widened behind her glasses and she barely resisted leaping into the air.  "Alright!!!!"

Kari and Takeru helped pull Ken up to his feet.  Rhinomon, a big truck of a digimon covered in shining gold armor with a long, wicked looking horn, tossed his head aggressively and growled while Maildramon opened her golden wings slightly, her metal plated body shining silver in the dead light as she stamped her four feet, making the ground shake.  Blue hair peeked out of the bottom of her majestic, finely wrought helmet.

TK frowned as the other boy swayed on his feet.  "Are you okay?"

Ken cast him an odd look from beneath his long strands of indigo hair.  "Oh, I'm just dandy.  Never been better."

Cody eyed the angry, hissing wall of water in front of them.  "Good, because I think Dagomon is getting upset."

Magnamon lifted up off the ground, shining like a flame and settled back in preparation for the coming battle.  Elephamon reared up and let loose a loud trumpet of challenge, his white underbelly a sharp contrast to the heavy blue armor that covered the majority of his body and supported the red-bladed fans that faced the sky on either side of his back.  Small red tusks protruded out from either side of his trunk.  The elephant-like vaccine's blue-booted feet landed with a boom and his voice was an angry rumble.  "Good!  Bring it on!"

Cody blinked at his partner.

The wave collapsed and Dagomon surged forward, the water churning violently in his wake.  **_"Do you think that a nightlight can frighten me?!  I am not the monster under your bed!  I AM A GOD!!!!"_**

Kari narrowed her eyes.  "Oh, shut up already!!  I have had it with you!"  She carefully shifted Ken over to TK before stepping in front the others and pointing her finger accusingly at the squid-like creature advancing on them.  "You're no better than Myotismon and Apocalamon!  You say that the Holy Beasts are corrupt, but it's really you!  They may not have it all together, or know everything, but at least they're trying to do what's best for everyone.  You don't care about anything but yourself!  I can't stand people like you!  You say that you want to help others, but all you want to do is take care of yourself.  You move through your whole life using other people up and then discarding them when you're done and then when you reach the end and you realize how empty, and boring, and wasted your life was, you blame everyone else!  Well, I'm tired of it!  This stops now!!"

Dagomon reared back and a long tentacle came down towards the girl.

"Kari!!"

"Get down!!"

Magnamon sprang forward and snatched her up as the long, slimy appendage slammed into the sand.  He dropped down to the ground with a grunt, cradling the Child of Light to his chest, and turned to glare at the monster at the edge of the water.

Kongoumon stepped forward.  The huge beetle-like creature raised his six arms, each clutching a spiky-ended Vajrah, and the dull light shone off his golden shell as he cast a frown at his partner.  "Ken . . .?"

The Ninth Child looked at Davis questioningly and the goggle boy grinned.  "Take him out!"

**_"Thousand waves!!!!"_**

The Chosen Digimon surged forward, Magnomon, Peacockmon, and Kongoumon taking to the air, wings appearing when the beetle-like digimon's shell slid apart like a ladybug's.  Maildramon was far too heavy to fly, but as her armored body went forward, the earth shook.  Rhinomon was right by her side, his body shining beautifully in the rainbow light of the Crests.  Elephamon positioned himself in front of the Children, stamped his feet, dug in his heels, and leaned back so that his trunk touched the ground and his fans were turned towards the oncoming wave.  The red fan blades began to whir.  **_"Nitro Turbine Wave!!"_**

Yolei grabbed Cody and held him close and the Children all huddled together against the force of the Elephamon's attack.  The air directly in front of the Armor Digimon trembled and seemed to solidify and strain towards Dagomon's attack, then it pushed until there came a deafening "POP" and a burst of bluish white sped towards the black wall of water, instantly dissipating it on contact.

The digimon in the air wasted no time.  The instant the wave fell back into the water, Magnamon darted forward as Peacockmon halted in mid-air.  

**_"Extreme Jihad!!"_**

The fast paced series of lightening-laced punches and kicks seemed to startle the Mega and he twisted to knock Magnamon out of the sky, but a hundred painful explosions of bright light flashed in front of his eyes, blinding him.  The former human flailed his tentacles wildly as Peacockmon drew himself up again and let lose another attack.  

**_"Sterlizia!!"_**

Kongoumon went after the tentacles, his diamond-hard shell and massive strength easy protection against the beating he was receiving.  **_"Vajra!!"_**  The tentacles slowed their motion as the Armored Data type moved his many arms in a strange swaying motion and he seemed to shimmer and glow faintly.

On the ground, Maildramon and Rhinomon's deadly stampede made contact with the writhing digimon who had done so much damage.  Hissing white light encased Maildramon's body as she darted forward with unbelievable speed; her head was down so that the wicked looking horn on her helmet led the attack and her voice rang out loudly over the fray.  **_"Lightening Spear!!"_**

The tip of Rhinomon's horn glowed white as he charged forward, head down, and sand churning up behind him.  **_"Split Blade!!"_**

The two digimon, so often partners in battle, impacted at the same moment, and for the first time in memory, Dagomon screamed in pain.  White light flared from the impact point and the harsh scent of carbon and something unknown filled the air.  Steam rose up from the shallow water.

Elephamon charged forward then, positive that the Children were not in immediate danger, and the humans' tight cluster instantly broke up as Davis dashed forward for a better look.  Yolei trailed after him, watching their digimon all worked together to bring down their foe.

Elephamon's tusks began to glow red and then fired like twin missiles, impacting just below his eyes with bright explosions.  **_"Tusk Missle!!"  _**Two more tusks instantly slid down to replace the lost ones.  

Cody stared at his partner in amazement as the immense creature joined the battle and then a wide smile spread across his face.  "Yeah!"

**_"Magna Kick!"_**

Dagomon roared a second time as he floundered to keep his balance.

Davis leapt into the air.  "Alright!!  You're doing it!!" 

The rainbow sky pulsed then and the lights of Courage and Friendship suddenly lashed out and wrapped around the raging Mega in the water like a lasso.

The Guardian become digimon screamed in pain and tried to pull away from the ropes of light.  "What is this?!"

A pair of violet eyes narrowed and Ken then smirked knowingly as he figured out what had happened.  "It's us.  We can draw down those lights again and use them against him."

Yolei stuck out her tongue.  "That's what you get for messing with the Digidestined, buster!"  

The lights of Purity and Love lashed out, causing the Dagomon to scream again.  Then two more lights struck Kazunori as Cody called on the power of his own Traits.

Kari, TK, and Ken all looked up at the three remaining colors in the sky and the blond frowned as a strange feeling overtook him. He felt . . . light-warm all over-almost like he was floating.  Like something was calling out to him.  "What is that?"

"I've felt this before . . . In that prison, I think . . ." Kari turned to Ken.  "Do you feel it?"

The boy genius nodded.  "It's power."

Kari reached out instinctively and gripped Takeru and Ken's hands in her own.  "It's our power.  This is what the prophecy was about-the Sacred Triangle."

Takeru reached out and squeezed Ken's free hand in his and all three of their digivices shone like small suns.  The sky turned white.

The digimon continued their frenzied battle but their partners all looked up.  Davis turned to find Kari, TK , and Ken still standing close together and frowned worriedly when he saw the sand around them begin to swirl upwards in the windless air.  He started to run up the beach towards them.  "Whu-?"

Cody grabbed him before he could run between Ken, Kari, and TK.  "No!"  Davis turned around to demand that the boy let him go help the others, but stopped when his eyes locked on a solemn pair of emerald ones.  "Let them be, Davis.  They need to do this."

Davis looked away from Cody, pain written on his features as he stared at his three friends.  Kari, Takeru, and Ken were standing in a small circle holding hands with their heads bowed low.  And they were all glowing.  Ken was bright white, Kari was soft pink, and TK was a strong gold color.

Yolei came to stand next to Davis and Cody.  "What is it?  What should we do?"

Davis shrugged helplessly.

Dagomon lashed out suddenly, knocking Magnamon and Peacockmon out of the sky.  The two slammed into the water and were airborne again an instant later.

**_"Magna Punch!!"_**

****

**_"Rainbow Shower!!"_**

Ken, TK, and Kari all looked up at Davis and he jerked backwards and probably would have fallen if it hadn't been for Cody and Yolei.  Their eyes were glowing, white, gold, and pink.

Something that looked like liquid lightening shot through the clouds.

Three voices blossomed in his head and they all sounded like one.  _Hurry._  _Attack him now . . ._

Davis whirled around, cupped his hands to his mouth, and screamed at the top of his lungs.  "Give it everything that you've got!"

The digimon turned and looked at him in confusion.

"NOW!!" 

**_"Extreme Jihad!!"_**

****

**_"Rainbow Shower!!"_**

****

**_"Gun Attack!!"_**

****

**_"Iron Press!!"_**

****

**_"Atomic Burst!!"_**

****

**_"Nitro turbine Wave!!"_**

The attacks all impacted at once and the ground shivered with the sheer power unleashed.  Davis gaped as bright white light descended on Kazunori in the form of a screaming dragon and the Ultimate shrieked as he seemed to cringe inward.  The Light ripped away at the black flesh of the Dagomon, ruthlessly and painfully stripping it away from the human being that had sought refuge in it.  It was a cross between tearing and melting and the creature shuddered violently, it's face transfixed in pain, before it vanished in a wash of brilliant light.  

The digimon all reeled backwards as they were caught in the aftershock of the impact and the children on the beach were knocked off their feet.  Water shot a hundred feet in the air and a hiss was heard over the roaring-steam from the heat and force of the blast-and everything seemed to turn hazy and blur together.

And then everything was still and the light faded in the sky, returning the world to its gray mediocrity.

Yolei coughed and sat up.  She blinked owlishly before removing her glasses to clean them off.  A thick layer of muddy sand encrusted the lenses.   "Is it over?"

Nobody responded and the others began to stir.  "Peacockmon?"

A heavy black rain began to fall.

Davis groaned as he pulled himself to his feet.  "Magnamon!!"

"Davis!!"

Six small forms were bouncing up the beach from the waterline.

"Chibimon?"

A giggling blue ball of fuzz leapt into the air and pounced on the goggle boy.  "Did we do good, Davis?  Did we?  We tried real, real hard!  Did you see me hit him?  I hit him real good!"

Davis laughed and tossed the baby digimon gently into the air.  "You were great, little guy!"

Upomon flapped his ears while Cody hugged him and Poromon was chattering non-stop in Yolei's arms.  She smiled at him.  "I was so proud of you!"

Davis bounced Chibimon again gently.  "You were the coolest one out there!  You should have seen yourself!"

"Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back there, Digidestined."

Leafmon's tail waggled happily and he did he patented "hold me" bounce.  "Ken!  Ken!  Ken!"

The Child of Kindness and Miracles staggered into view, Kari and TK at his side.  The three were holding one another up and they all looked pale and drained.  

The indigo-haired youth pulled away and gently gathered his partner into his arms.  "I've never been more proud of you, Leafmon."

The baby plant-type smiled a Leafmon smile and snuggled down into the boy's arms.

TK lifted Pabumon up and hugged him.  The jellyfish type giggled.  "Pabu!!  Pabu, pabu!"

"I missed you, too, little guy."

Kari knelt down in front of a small yellow-ish orange ball of fluff with the ears and the purple tipped tail of a cat.  The girl smiled and looked down into the large brown eyes of her partner's in-training form.  "I don't believe we've met."  

The little data type blinked and smiled.  "I'm Nyaromon.  I'm the in-training form of Gatomon."  

Kari lifted her up and hugged her tight.  "Thank you for protecting us."

The little creature smiled and wiggled her ears happily.  "Anytime."

"We killed him."

Everyone looked away from his or her partner and looked at Cody.  The little boy still holding Upamon in his arms and was bent over a large dark mass.  The others came over hesitantly, afraid of what they knew they would find.  It was the stiffened, abused body of a man, tall, in his early to mid twenties.  His dark hair was plastered to his forehead and a dark frown distorted his Asian features. An unnatural blue shade tinged his flesh-he wasn't breathing.

Yolei drew a sharp breath as she recognized the face.  "It's him . . . It's Kazunori."  She pulled back and stared at the others in horror.  "We . . . _killed_ him.  We killed a human be-"

"No."  Ken's voice rose over the quiet slosh of the waves and cut through the stillness like a blade.  "Whatever he was, he wasn't human.  He stopped being human a long time ago."

Kari nodded sadly and gently placed a delicate hand on the dead man's forehead.  "Ken's right.  Maybe now his soul has finally found the peace that escaped him in three worlds."  She raised her tired red-brown eyes and looked at Davis.  "I want to go home now."

Ken sighed and pulled himself wearily feet.  He swayed dangerously for an instant before a small, but surprising strong hand reach up to steady him.  He looked down into Cody's eyes for a moment before his gaze flickered to the rest of the Digidestined.  "Let go.  I'll open the gate."

The others stood, but Cody looked back at the body, hesitating a moment.  "But we can't just leave him here!  I mean, sure he was evil and cruel, but he can't just-"

Ken squeezed his shoulder with his free hand.  "Let the dead bury their own, Cody, " he advised quietly.  The former Emperor looked straight ahead and the expression in his eyes was closed and distant.  "The sand will blow away and the tide will rise.  There's no good ground here.  There's nothing more we can do now.  Let's just go home."

The boy cast another look back.  "But this doesn't feel right . . . we won.  Shouldn't it feel better?  It shouldn't feel this hollow.  Shouldn't it feel different?"

Ken shrugged as they reached the others.  "Not that I've ever noticed."  He held up his night black digivice.  "Digiport open."

A hole formed in space and the air rippled, then warped, and then tore.

Davis cast a look back at him.  "You're gonna have to teach me how to do that."

A delicate eyebrow lifted,  "You mean you can't?" but the Child of Courage and Friendship was already gone.

Kari and Yolei were next, the wine-haired girl propping her friend up.

Cody left Ken to support TK.  He turned back to Ken anxiously.  "You'll hurry, right?"

"I'm right behind you."

TK looked back and offered him a shaky smile before the two boys stepped through, leaving Ken alone on the beach.  The indigo haired youth sighed and stared at the portal.  Then he turned around and stared back at the body.

"Stupid," he muttered.  "This was all so fabulously stupid.  And what did either of us get out of it?  Absolutely nothing." 

He glared at the corpse.  "She was wrong, you know," he growled at the body.  "We are not alike."

It did not reply.

After a moment more he stepped through the Digiport, and in the one instant when he was falling between the universe and a moment, he thought that he heard a painfully familiar voice singing a lullaby to him as he went, soothing his frazzled soul.  

_"And there's no need for turning back, / For all roads lead to where I stand. / And I believe I'll walk them all, / No matter what I may have planned."_

_. . .Oniisan . . .?_

_I'm proud of you, Kenny-boy._

He brushed the thought aside.

The portal slammed shut behind him with angry hiss and a wind blew across the dead, blasted beach.  For an instant the breeze blew over the corpse of Kazunori Saito and then the man's body suddenly turned to dust and collapsed in on itself.  The wind blew the dust away.  A tidal wave surged up then, covering the whole of the beach, and when it receded there was no trace left of what had transpired there.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	35. What Was Given and What Was Taken Away

**______________________________________________________________________________________**

****

**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain**  5/31/2001-1/26/2002

****

**__________________________________________________________******

**Vain**:  Dadada!!!!

**Tsuzuki**:  Oi . . . How much of that Vick 44 have you drank now, Vain-chan?

**Vain**:  *grins and bounces up and down*  Ah!  I don't know Zuki-saaaaaaaaaaan.  Hmm?  Two bottles?  Hehehehehehe.  I can't feel my elbows!!!!

**Watari**:  *to Tsuzuki*  You made her eat your curry chicken again, didn't you?

**Tsuzuki**:  Me?!  It's the Vicks!!

**Vain**: *singsongs* Read and review.  Ari~gato and ja ne!!!!!!

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**_~"But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. _**

**_ For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak."_****__**

**-Matthew 10: 19**

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

Part Thirty-Four 

**What Was Given and What Was Taken Away**

"You should have seen it, Tai!!  It looked like the whole sky just got ripped open and then this dragon-thing comes out of nowhere and slams right into the Dagy-thing-"

"Dagomon."

"That's what I said.  Who's telling this story anyway, Yolei?"

Kari squeezed her eyes shut, tucked her head in her hands, pushed herself farther down into the sleeping bag, and tried to block out the voices.  She didn't want to wake up yet.

"Well, if you'd tell it right-"

"So what happened then, Davis?"

"Hey!  I was talking—"

"Well then, Kari and TK and Ken are still holding hands and doing the freaky glowing thing and the dragon hit the baddie and WHAM!!!"

"Wham?"

"_Co~dy!_"

"It didn't wham."

Kari groaned softly and curled up into a ball with a dark scowl.

"Get your own story, Yolei!  This one is mine!"

"But it _didn't_ wham, Davis."

"Who's side are you on, Demiveemon?"

Somebody echoed her groan nearby and then she heard TK's voice, thick with sleep.  "Kari?"

"What?"

"Do you think if we "whammed" again we could make Davis shut up?"

She chuckled and shifted a bit, trying to reclaim the comfort of her sleep.

"I don't care what Davis is doing," Ken muttered irritably from somewhere to her left.  "Short of the Armageddon, I am never, ever, ever doing that again.  I feel horrid."

The girl rolled over and opened her eyes, blinking as the last vestiges of sleep fell off.  Ken was curled up in his sleeping bag in a fetal position facing her with Leafmon held close to his chest.  A dark frowned marred his face and his eyes were shut in a fashion that could only be described as stubborn; he had almost looked like he was pouting.  Behind him, Takeru was lying on his back with both hands beneath his head and staring at the ceiling of the tent. 

Outside the tent, Demiveemon muttered an apology and Davis resumed his story.  Kari smiled faintly; she could almost see him gesturing with the particular earnest and somehow confused animation that could only belong to Davis Motomiya.  For a moment she felt as though she were something treasured and precious simply because she was considered his friend.

"So _any~way_ . . . like I was saying before, the dragon-thing slams right into the bad guy and he like _splits in two_!  You should have seen it!  There was the digimon, but then there was the man part.  And then it looked like they both got swallowed by all this silver light that the dragon was made of.  It was awesome!!"

"But what happened to the woman with no eyes?"

"I dunno.  Ken said he did something with her."

"Never mind then . . ."

"What?  I'm sure it wasn't anything really, really _bad_ . . ."

Someone sighed.

"What?!"

"You're too innocent, Davis."

Ken growled and pulled his knees up closer to his chest.  

TK stretched.  "Well, I really don't see any of us going back to sleep any time soon, so we may as well get up."

Kari watched him through half-open eyes as he stood and pulled his hat over his rumpled bed hair.

"I'm not going anywhere, Takaishi," Ken groused.  Leafmon wiggled in his arms as he started to wake up as well.

Kari rolled over again and was somewhat surprised to find herself staring at Gatomon's sleeping form.  "I have to agree with Ken on this one."  The girl yawn, demurely covering her mouth with one hand as she closed her eyes again.  "It is way too early to get up."

TK chuckled.  "It's two o'clock."

Ken sat up so fast that Leafmon fell.  "It's what?"

"Ken!"

The dark-haired boy lifted his now-alert and highly annoyed partner up almost absently as he pushed himself to his feet.  He winced as his stiff muscles protested the sudden demands of movement.  

Kari burrowed deeper into her sleeping bag.  "I don't want to get up."

Gatomon tickled her girl's nose with the tip of her tail until Kari opened her eyes to frown at the digimon who, for all appearances, seemed to still be asleep.  The Champion's large blue eyes opened and she stretched lazily before walking over to the tent flap.  "The others have been really worried about you three.  Especially your brothers."  Ken's flinch did not go unnoticed by anyone in the tent.  "Besides, everyone has a ton of questions for you and Ken."  She vanished before Kari could say anything.

Ken shrugged and followed her outside, blinking at the sun.

Kari stared at the tent flap for a moment looked up at her friend.  For a moment the pair stared at one another in silence.  TK's blues eyes flickered and he looked away.  "What happened to you two?  You're both a little bit . . . off."

The girl pushed herself to her feet and smoothed out her clothes.  They were wearing the same outfits they had been wearing before they had entered the Digital World.  Delicate fingers smoothed back her hair and readjusted her hair clips.  "I . . ." Her right clip made a popping sound as she opened it.  "I don't know.  I . . . saw something, TK."  She replaced the clip in her hair and shivered.  "There's something in my head.  It's like . . . a bruise on my mind.  A kind of itching underneath the skin . . ." She trailed and gave him a lopsided smile.  "I guess I'm not really explaining this all that well, am I?"

He took two swift steps and wrapped his arms around her.  "Then we'll all just have to help you figure it out, then, okay?"

Kari sighed and leaned back into TK's arm.  "Thanks TK . . . You're a real friend."

"That's what I'm here for."

**************

Ken scowled as the sun struck him in the eyes and for just a moment he considered crawling back into the tent and sleeping for the rest of the day.  His head felt like it was packed with sawdust.  A muscle in his cheek twitched, and a dull ache reminded him of the forgotten bruise on his cheek.  He hadn't looked in the mirror since Friday morning and imagined that he looked rather unattractive.  It seemed grossly inappropriate that only three days had passed.

Someone grabbed his wrist and yanked him over to somewhere before his eyes could adjust, but he didn't need to see to recognize Davis's voice.

"Dude, come sit down over here!"

He reflexively clutched his digimon tighter as he was jerked down to the ground and when his eyes cleared he found himself sitting on his knees in a loose circle between Davis and Cody.  The digimon were in the center of the circle, stuffing themselves with what appeared to be California rolls, rice balls, and various chocolate confections.  Leafmon happily bounced over to the pile and shoved his face into a container of sushi and began eating loudly.  Ken stared at his partner, momentarily bemused, and then shook his head ruefully.

He turned to Davis.  "So what happened?"

"Hmm?"  The other boy stopped in mid-reach for a rice ball and looked up at Ken.  A smile lit his face and he turned back to the rice balls.  "You three collapsed just about the second you came out of the Digiport-fell like stones.  You really gave us a scare until Izzy said that you were probably just exhausted."

Ken nodded and filed the information away.  He shifted his legs to a more comfortable position and a rice ball and juice box was shoved into his hands.  He shot Cody a surprised look that the other boy brushed aside by lifting up his own juice box and taking a sip.  "Thank you."

Cody nodded.

"So, Ken . . ." At the sound of Izzy's voice, his eye flickered to the other side of the circle where the Child of Knowledge sat between Matt and Yolei.  "Maybe you can help us sort out our confusion."

Ken eyed his rice ball in an attempt to find a way to eat it as demurely and obtrusively as possible.  "How's that?"

Next to him, Davis shoved the last half of his rice ball into his mouth without a thought.  "Dey vunt jew know 'bout gee dimimon."

Ken blinked.

"They want to know about the digimon," Yolei translated.

Ken shrugged and fiddled with his straw.  "Near as I can tell, he wasn't really a digimon.  Or even a human by that point in time."

Kari's voiced sounded from somewhere behind and he relaxed, grateful to no longer be the center of attention.  "He was a renegade guardian."

He didn't turn around when Kari and TK emerged from the tent and came to sit in the circle.  Ken settled back and frowned slightly when he saw how washed out Kari looked in the pale yellow sunlight.

She sat down between Yolei and Tai and gratefully accepted the rice ball the other girl offered her.  Takeru sat between Matt and Izzy and picked at a sushi roll his brother handed him.

Tai eyed his sister in concern.  "A what?"  

Sunlight bounced off her silver hairclips as she dropped her head and sighed.  Kari set down her food and pulled her knees up close to her chest before she continued.  "Like Gennai.  He was supposed to be one of the Guardians of the Original Digidestined, but something happened and he went crazy.  There were originally four guardians, one for each Holy Beast and every two Children, except for Miracles.  But this one-Kazunori Saito . . . something went wrong.  He . . . went insane . . . killed two of the others . . . and took Sanghee away with him.  He cast a spell to join him with a Dagomon because he wanted its power, but Gennai and the Digidestined interrupted the ceremony and the two fused incorrectly.  That's why the Dagomon looked so deformed.  The spell was losing hold and killing them-he was literally falling apart at the seams."  She shivered.

Yolei frowned and fidgeted uncomfortably in the silence that followed.  "How do you know all this, Kari . . .?  Did someone tell you, or-"

Kari shook her head.  "I don't know," she muttered miserably.  "It's all in my head.  I can see it all, just like I was there when it happened.  Gennai had been Kazunori's apprentice.  When his master turned on the Holy Beasts . . ." She paused for a moment and closed her eyes.  "It nearly killed him."

For a moment no one said anything else, then Tai gently put an arm around his sister's shoulders.  "Do you remember what happened to you while you were missing?"

She shook her head and he bit his lower lip, scowling at whatever had his sister so distraught.  He shot a dark look across the circle.  "Ken?"

The younger boy stared back at him emotionlessly.  

"Do you remember anything?"

He shook his head.  A touch of pain entered the young prodigy's eyes when they flickered to Kari.  "I just remember waking up in a dark room.  The woman, Sanghee, was already dead."

Tai's face tightened a bit.  Ken was lying-he could feel it in his bones.  "Are you sure?"

The Child of Kindness and Miracles nodded and took a sip of juice.  "All I remember is waking up in a room with a headache and a corpse and then finding Kari laying in the hall.  Nothing more."

Tai scowled and opened his mouth, but Izzy suddenly talked over him.  "This is odd."

Everyone turned to the senior genius curiously. TK swallowed a bite of sushi.  "What is it?'

Izzy scowled down at the screen of his D-Terminal.  "This just can't be right at all.  Are you guys sure that the base was destroyed."

One of Ken's eyebrows lifted ever so slightly.  "We were _on_ it at the time."

"Hmph.  Then how did it end up in the Server Desert?"

"What?"  Ken pulled out his own D-Terminal and opened it, his eyes widening as they flickered over the small screen.  "This isn't possible."

Davis frowned at the perplexed look on the other boy's face.  "Ken?"

"This just isn't possible," he repeated.  "The core blew out.  The base dropped like a stone."

"Well, if the core blew out, then how did you survive?"

Ken looked up at Izzy.  "I beg your pardon?"

"Well if the base went down," the Child of Knowledge reasoned, "then you all should have been blown up."

Kari shifted restlessly and looked troubled.  "It could have been Sanghee."

Izzy blinked.  "How so?"

"Sanghee didn't really have any solid or combative power, but I'm pretty sure that she could cast illusions.  She could also supposedly read the future and send out her spirit, but I don't know."  The girl shook her head and frowned.  "It's all fuzzy.  I can't really see."

Cody turned Kari to Ken.  "Then she might not be dead."

"What?"

The younger boy shrugged.  "You might have just woken up to an illusion.  After all, how else do you explain everything?  The base?  You waking up and just happening to find Kari outside?  She could have set it up."

TK shook his head and looked perplexed.  "But that doesn't make any sense.  Why would she do that?  I don't buy it."

Cody's green eyes remained on Ken, holding his gaze.  "I don't know.  Maybe she got tired of him.  Maybe she wanted to betray him and get away with it.  Dagomon thinks she dead, he gets sloppy in battle—careless.  Plus, she gets away scott free.  What do you think?"

Ken held his gaze for a moment before tearing his eyes away to study his rice ball.  After a moment of investigation, he looked back at Cody.  "I think your reading into things.  I think that she's dead, he's dead, and this was all a monumental waste of time.  I think that it's over."

"But why would the base show up on Server again?" Matt pressed.

Ken's eyes flickered over to the other boy and a faint shadow of a scowl danced over his face before vanishing.  "It was a return protocol I built into the original system.  In case the base ever became damaged and for some reason I or Wormmon were unable to respond, it was programmed to return to the Server Desert."

"Why there?"

"Because that's where I built it."

"Oh."

For a moment no one said anything and the silence grew until it was something loud and obnoxious.  Davis fidgeted and sighed and even the digimon seemed to grow quiet and still.

"So that's it then?"  Izzy looked around the circle as he tried to process all the data he had heard.  "It's over?"

The Children all nodded wearily, all of them looking suddenly drained.

"We killed him," Yolei said, tears building in her eyes.  "We killed a human being."

"He wasn't," Kari repeated with a sigh.  "I don't know what he was, but it wasn't human anymore."

"He was an abomination."

All eyes flickered to Ken and Cody frowned.  Ken's face softened then.  He didn't really show more emotion, he just didn't look quite so harsh.

"But it's over now," he reiterated.  "We're done with all this."  He took a tiny bite out of his rice ball and lay down on his back to stare at the sky.  

The birds chirped and the wind blew, but despite a general feeling of dissatisfaction and incompletion, nobody said anything.  There was nothing really left to say.

**************

Gennai stood next to the lake and sighed heavily.  Too much. Too much to do.  Too much done . . . far, far too much left undone.  His stomach was sore, but he knew better than to complain.  If he was still fully human, not even the Guardian's magic could have saved him.  It had taken a lot of their strength to even transport him across dimensions.

He took a step onto the pinkish surface of the water and the waves spread apart to reveal a neatly cut staircase leading down to the floor of the lake.  It would be nice to go home.  He'd take off his shoes, clean up his filthy robes, and maybe talk to a few fish.  And there would be tea.  He could hardly wait to have a nice hot cup of green tea with just a tiny bit of honey.  He smiled and began to descend the stairs.  It would be nice.  He'd have an evening to himself at long last.  Another sigh escaped him.

Fish darted past him as he walked down the smooth walk to his neat, Japanese style home.  A few of the fish swam close and waved to him from the watery wall, welcoming him home after so very long.  He smiled a tired smile and waved back.  Yes, it was definitely good to be back.

He opened the door and closed it behind him silently, oblivious to the water as it returned to its original state.  

"So just where have you been?"

Gennai paused from taking off his shoes and looked up.  A rookie digimon was in the water right outside his window, staring at him with practiced nonchalance.  The Betamon, a green attitude with flippers that doubled as claws and a red dorsal fin that doubled as a Mohawk, blinked his amber eyes and grinned, an unpleasant expression that prominently displayed his many sharp teeth.  Most Betamon were placid and sedate until angered, but this one was a firecracker no matter what mood he was in.  Gennai had known him for quite a while, long before the rest of his clan had digivolved and moved on.  This one stayed behind to guard Gennai's home after the traveler had saved the creature from a very angry Elecmon.

The traveler smiled as his friend leapt through the window to land with a wet splat on the floor.  "So where were you?" the digimon grated as it clicked its little body across the floor.  "And how did you get hurt?"

Gennai blinked, startled.  "How did you know I was hurt?"

"You smell like pain.  Let's have tea.  I haven't had tea in quite a while."

"Alright."

The Betamon made his way over to the low-set table and watched as Gennai bustled around.  "Out screwing up again, were you?"

"Something like that."

Gennai returned a few minutes later carrying a tea tray.  There was one teacup and one shallow, wide bowl for the digimon.  The tray was set down and china clinked for several quiet minutes as everything was prepared.  When the two were both settled in with their tea, Gennai heaved a heavy sigh.

"Well?" demanded the digimon a third time.

The man cracked his neck and settled back a bit.  "Ken opened the Radiance."

"I thought the Davis kid did that already."

Gennai took a sip.  "Mmm?  Sort of.  Plus the Sacred Triangle has been activated and Kazunori and Sanghee are dead."

The Betamon absorbed this all without blinking.  "So?  I'm sure you didn't do anything to really help them, and probably only hindered them.  You didn't come clean about Ryou and Myotismon, did you?  You probably just tried to play it down the center and ended up making an even bigger mess than was there in the first place.  You usually do."

If his words offended the traveler, there was no indication.  "They're alive, aren't they?  The Holy Beasts underestimate the true value of the Children.  They are not expendable.  If I get into hot water with the Masters or you don't approve of my methods . . ." He trailed off with a shrug.

The Betamon finished off his bowl and Gennai refilled it.  "You should quit," the digimon advised after his bowl was ready.  "This isn't the first time you've done something stupid and nearly died for it.  The Holy Beasts don't even bother punishing you for your indiscretions anymore.  Quit.  Take an extended vacation or something.  Once the boy is ready, they won't keep standing for your pigheadedness."

Gennai sighed and poured himself another cup of tea.  "Betamon?"

"Mmm?"

"Shut up."

The Betamon slurped loudly.  When he didn't respond the traveler set down his teacup, steepled his hands, and stared darkly out the window.  A school of fish swam past.  "And what am I _supposed_ to do, Betamon?  I have to protect the Digidestined.  I have to keep them safe.  That's _what I was trained to do_.  That is what I will do."

Betamon sighed.  "You're a nimrod, traveler."

"We all have our shortcomings, my friend."

**************

He loved her.  Oh, he was a fool and he knew it, but he loved her still.  He was made for it.  It was in his blood.  She was a part of him-the best of him.  So when he had found her alone and battered in the forest, he had felt it acutely with every part of his being.  He would care for her, nurse her, ignore her violent rebuffs . . . But he would not rage near her.  He had rage, mountains of it, for whoever had dared harm his beloved-his Arukenimon-but she would never see it.  She raged, so he would not.  She hated, so he would not.  She feared, so he would not.  She led, so he would not.

He would always be what she could not.  He made her perfect that way-took the ugliness that marred her beauty into himself and completed her in this fashion.  This was how he worship her-his quiet and eternal benediction to her.  His devotion.  He would complete her and thus be a part of her, just as she was a part of him.  He loved her utterly and until the end.

"What are you staring at, you bumbling moron?!  Quit oggling me and get your bones over here before I give you a _reason_ to wear all those bandages!"

He cringed and ran over to her side.  "Yes, my-"

She slapped him hard, knocking him to the ground.  

He was still for a moment, blinking his one good eye at the dirt, and more than a little confused by the ringing in his ears.

"Those brats succeeded," she growled, tugging at her precious long white hair so roughly she nearly ripped it out by the roots.  "Betrayal after betrayal," the woman hissed, giving her hair another tug.  "From the beginning this was supposed to be fixed.  Ichijouji was to build the Spires, the Master was supposed open the digital gates, nobody else was supposed to be involved!!"  Another tug.  "Not the Chosen Children, not the Dark Undersea Master, not Gennai, not Daemon . . . No one!  What went wrong?!"  There came a sudden ripping noise as she pulled out a considerable section of the hair in the back.  

Mummymon flinched, but she didn't seem to notice the results of her own actions.

"Well, pumpkin, it seems to me that Ichijouji has been the cause of all this misfortune.  If we kill him-"

She glared at him through her purple sunglasses and he nearly swallowed his own tongue.

"Ichijouji," she spat out the name like a curse, "is not the cause, he is the focus, you brainless dithering pathetic excuse for a male specimen of _any_ species!!"

"But if the Boss wants us to eliminate the problems we've encountered, then why don't we just kill him, poppet?"

She wheeled on him and for an instant he thought she would strike him again.  Instead she merely strode past him to the jeep.  "The Boss favors him.  Besides, that would best be done by finding out what has caused the problems and eliminating them from the root.  You don't rip out the entire garden to weed.  Now get over here.  The Boss wants to see us.  We have new orders."

"But what about the boy, my love?"

"What about him?" she snapped irritably.  "He's the Boss's problem now.  Let him deal with it.  Besides, he wants us to ensure that his plan encounters no more difficulties.  That means that the Digidestined are our targets, not the boy.  And anybody else who wants to stand in our way."

Mummymon climbed into the jeep and fastened his seatbelt.  "And the boy?"

"That is not our concern.  Get that through your head."

He nodded, confused.  "Does that mean that we can stop protecting him now, too?"

She grimaced.  "How should I know?"

Her companion bit one of his lips and started the engine.  For a moment the two were silent and then he slid her a sidelong glance.  She ignored him.

"Sugar muffin?"

". . ."

"Dear heart?"

" . . ."

"My odiferous little cabbage . . .?"

Arukenimon gave him a look that could peel paint.  "Is this important?"

"I'm still afraid I don't really understand.  What's changed between today and yesterday?"

She looked away from and twirled a bit of hair anxiously around her pointer finger.  When she didn't respond, he hazarded another glance in her direction.  "Arukenimon?"

A noise of disgust left her.  "Nothing.  Everything.  I don't know."

"Arukenimon?"

"What?"

"Has anything really changed?"

"Not as far as I can tell."

"Then what was all the fuss about?"

She turned back to him and dropped her head a bit so that she could stare at him over the rims of her purple sunglasses.  Her ivory-white irises dilated slightly.  "How should I know?  Just shut up and drive, Mummymon."

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***


	36. Epilogue: The Days of Justification

**______________________________________________________________________________________**

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**For They Shall Be Filled**

By: **Vain**  5/31/2001-1/26/2002

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**__________________________________________________________******

It's done.  This story—Book One of the Revelations Arch—is complete.  This was the second work I started for Digimon.  This was fourth fan fiction ever.  This was the single longest work I've ever done.  And now the first part is complete.  ^_^  

Thank you's must be extended to all my readers, from those of you who have been here since the beginning and those of you who just picked this up.  

Special thanks must be extended to **Athena**, **Herongale and the splendiferous Other**, **Mink**, **Jekka chan**, **Tatsuni no Yami**, **Evy**, **Soulless Ishida**, and **DigitalGirl562**.  

Arigato and merci.  Please enjoy the last part of the fic and Review.  Ja ne!

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**_~"And I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, _**

**_and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven_**

**_ and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."_****__**

**-Matthew 16: 19**

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**Epilogue**

**The Days of Justification**

In a place called limbo two spirits met one another.  For a moment there was a heavy silence and then one of them spoke.  

// Well? // he asked expectantly.

_Well what?_

// What do you think will happen now, Osamu? //

_If I knew that then I wouldn't be here talking about it to you._

A mental shrug.  // I don't think that he'll be happy with things like this, you know. //

I know.

//So what do you think will happen now?  The danger has not passed. //

I know, I know.  But just for a little while I'm going to pretend that it has and that everyone's safe and that everything will work out happily ever after.

// Ah.  //

By the way, thanks for the save back there.

// Hmmm?  //

Somehow you managed to get the Anti-Crest to Ken.  Thanks.

// You did most of the work, Osamu.  All I did was give him the tools.  If you and the others hadn't managed to get through to him during the last battle, the two Crests would have never rejoined again. //

But you gave them the tools.  That was a masterstroke. // . . . Don't talk about that like it was something brave.  It's the Child of Light who has paid the price for that.  // And would it matter if I told you you did the right thing? // I shoved the Prophecies in her head, 'Samu.  I laid the knowledge of the Guardians at the feet of the Chosen without giving her the experience or ability to understand it.  I violated her mind and left her with someone else's memories.  No, Osamu.  It wouldn't help.  //  . . . I'm sorry. // I know.  // . . . So how exactly did you get it to him, anyway? 

// What?  Oh, the Anti-Crest?  I waited until his spirit migrated to limbo and put the qualities of the Crest in him as he dreamed.  //

Do I even want to know the physics of that? 

// Limbo doesn't have physics, genius.  .  I just wish that this had been easier on him . . . easier on them all. //

The silence returned again, deep and uncomfortable.

// They'll be sending me back soon.  To complete my training, I mean.  Now that Gennai has proved himself to be true, I'll be training under him for a while and then I'll take over the North and West Spheres. //

That's cool.

// Yeah. //

The dead spirit's energy shifted restlessly.  He was still troubled by these recent turns of events_.  __There's still the Spore to contend with, too, _he reported a bit despondently._  And Ken has yet to face Oikawa and his minions.  Do you know if the Guardians will release the D.N.A. Digivolve yet? _

His companion—the living spirit—seemed to flutter.  //  The Jogress?  I'm not sure.  They have the Tail Ring, but it all depends on how the Chosen want to deal with each other now that they're through this.  //

Osamu gave the impression of a sigh_.   It's going to be quite a long road._  

// Will you walk the entire way with him? //

_Yes._

This prompted a wry snort.  // Then why not tell him that your there?  Give him some peace of mind. Maybe even tell him the truth . . .?  //

_I . . . I can't._

// Coward. //

_. . ._

_You don't get it.  It's so easy for you to say that—you wouldn't have to face him.  'Hi, Ken.  Remember me: you're dead brother Osamu?  I was just dropping in to tell you that I've been haunting you for a while now.  Oh, yeah, and by the way you're not human anymore.  But don't let that interfere with your career goals or anything.'  Yeah—that would sound swell._

//  Swell?  I don't think I've ever heard you say that word before.  And you know that that isn't what I meant.  //

_No.  . . . But I've done enough damage already . . . hurt him enough already.  I owe him a normal life at least._

// Kenny-boy will never have a 'normal' life, 'Samu.  None of the Chosen will. //

_I suppose your right._

// Then stop torturing yourself over it already. //

_I can't._

// Why not? //

_I don't know . . . I—He's my ototochan.  I love him._

// That's a crappy excuse.  You're afraid. //  

_And you wouldn't be?_

// . . . Loser.  //

There was a long silence as the two reflected on everything that they had seen in their short lives—and, in one case, death.  Then the living spirit seemed to frown, his energy fluctuating briefly.  // We are such hypocrites, aren't we? //

_Pretty much._

// . . . So . . . //

_So?_

// What do you think will happen now? //

_Shut up, Ryou._

**************

The sun shone brightly—real sunlight, not the plastic sunlight of the Digital World.  Ken Ichijouji sat on a bench in Odaiba and closed his eyes as the wind washed over him.  He hummed a lullaby under his breath and Leafmon was off playing in the grass.  The heat felt good.

"We figured you be here today."

Ken slowly opened his and regarded Davis Motomiya calmly.  The sun was behind the other boy and it cast odd shadows on his face, highlighting his cheekbones and giving his tanned skin a faint glow.  His brown eyes were unusually serious, a bit sad maybe, and looked somewhat distant—faded without losing his any of his radiance.

Ken closed his violet eyes again and leaned back on the bench, allowing his head to loll behind him and letting the weathered wood absorb the tension in his body. He wondered idly where his Leafmon was, but wasn't too concerned: anyone who messed with that baby would be in for a nasty surprise.  " 'We?' " the boy asked.  "And where's Leafmon bounced off to?"

"Yah, 'we.' "  Davis stretched, collapsed gracelessly next to him on the bench, and closed his eyes.  "And Leafmon's with the others.  I gave him directions when I came hunting for you.  How do you think I found you?  The picnic's today.  Did you forget?"

Actually, Ken had forgotten.  There was just always so much to do . . .

"Ken?"

The former despot raised his and opened his eyes to stare deep into Davis's concerned brown orbs.  "Mmm?"

 Davis frowned at the empty expression in his eyes and shifted for a moment, clearly displeased with something.  He glared at the ground and kicked a stone spitefully.  It bounced away.  "Ken . . . What's wrong?  We won.  Why aren't you happy?"

A derisive snort slid from Ken's lips.  "We won?  I'm not so sure."  He shook his head.  "It could have been me up there, Motomiya.  It could have been me so easily.  We were the same, Kazunori Saito and I . . . I don't think that I wanted this when I agreed to join you.  I just wanted my life, my memories, back."

The Child of Courage and Friendship was uncharacteristically quiet for several minutes and the wind blew loudly through the trees.  Finally he looked up at Ken.  "You're not like him, you know.  If you were, we would all be dead now."

The boy shrugged noncommittally.  "Perhaps, perhaps not.  I suppose we'll never know now, will we?"

"So will you join us now?"

"No."  Ken tilted his head to the side and regarded the other boy through his hair.  "Not yet.  I can't yet."

Davis looked away in and scowled petulantly.  He had hoped that they had all reached some sort of understanding by now.  "What are you looking for?" he ground out quietly, half to himself and half to the closed off youth at his side.  "Peace?  Forgiveness?  Closure?"

A short bark of laughter broke free from Ken.  "Closure?  There's no such thing as closure."  He settled back against the bench again and scrubbed a hand through his hair.  "I wish that things would change," he murmured.  "I wish I could change."

"But you have!"  The exclamation was soft yet fervent and Ken looked over at his companion, startled in spite of himself.  

"Whu—"

Davis threw his hands into the air and just barely resisted the urge to reach over and shake the boy.  "Don't you see it?  You haven't even insulted me once since I sat down."

A smirk quirked around the edges of Ken's mouth.  "Don't push your luck, Motomiya."

The other boy grinned and they both relaxed a bit.

"I'm very tired, Motomiya," Ken said suddenly. 

The brunette watched him with sad frustration for a moment, clearly not understanding what Ken meant.

"It would be nice, though," the former tyrant continued as he stretched.

"Hmm?"

"If we could all live happily ever after and ride away into the sunset.  If things weren't really the way that they are."

"Yeah."  Davis stood and gave him a shaky smile—it was not a Davis kind of smile.  "It would be, wouldn't it?"

Ken reached out and gripped the brunette by the elbow.  "Wait a minute."  His eyes caught the light and seemed to flash.  "What do you love, Davis?"

"Huh?"  Davis stared at the boy in confusion.  "What do you mean?  I don't know.  Veemon, my parents, Jun when she's not yelling at me or hogging up the bathroom. or—"

Ken released his hold and stood.  "No.  That's not what I meant.  I mean . . . If you could be anything at all—if you could be free—what would you be?"

Davis startled Ken by whirling around and leaping up onto the bench.  Ken recoiled slightly and stared up at the other boy, looking scandalized.  

Davis grinned, put his fists on his hips, and struck what he considered to be a suitably heroic and impressive pose.  This naturally only succeeded in making him look ridiculous.  "I would be SUPERMAN!!"

The indigo-haired boy stared as Davis carefully balanced himself on the back of the bench, puffed out his chest like a peacock, and yelled at the top of his lungs: "Here I come to save the day!!"

Ken snickered and Davis looked down at him and pouted.  "What?"

"Superman doesn't say 'Here I come save the day.' "

A clouded expression of confusion passed over the darker boy's face.  "Then who says that?"

Ken snickered again.  "Mighty Mouse."

Davis blinked and immediately deflated.  This unfortunately had the effect of making him lose his balance and he promptly fell backwards off of his precarious stage and landed with a thud and a groan behind the bench.

Ken was still chuckling when he turned around to peer over the back of the bench down at the winded goggle boy laying in his back.  The Tamachi boy's hair fell into his eyes as he grinned broadly at the other boy.  "You're such an idiot, Davis."  The words were affectionate and there was nothing but gentle amusement in his eyes.

Davis waited until the starts stopped exploding behind his eyes before he raised his head and grinned weakly at the other boy.  "But I got you to cheer up, didn't I?"

A wistful smile flickered across Ken's face.  "Yeah.  Yeah you did, Motomiya."

Davis pushed himself up with a grunt and Ken's smile faded to a look of concern.

"You okay?"

"Pfft."  Davis waved a hand.  "Just knocked the wind out of myself."  He walked around and sat next to the other boy again, absently pulling grass and leaves out of his hair.

Ken watched him for a moment before reaching up and gently removing a few twigs from his friend's hair. "So," he pressed as he ran a delicate hand through Davis's hair. "You still haven't answered me." 

"I don't know . . ." Davis squirmed and flushed bright red.   "What would you be?"

Ken suddenly pulled back and looked at him hard for a moment.  Then he wrapped his arms around his waist.  He stared at the ground.  "The wind.  I would be the wind."

Davis frowned and wrinkled his forehead.  "Why?"

"Because . . . it's freedom."  He looked up and forgot to be hard and indifferent for a moment, allowing Davis to see through the smooth veneer to the delicate spirit beneath—a delicate spirit that was as beautiful and dangerous as a flame, and just as easily extinguished without those mile-thick walls.  "You can't see it or touch it," Ken continued, "but it's there.  It's everywhere.  It's incomprehensible, but utterly simple.  I'd like to be the wind.  Nobody can touch it.  Nobody can change it."

"Nobody can love it, either."

Ken's eyes turned a sudden, vivid blue and he raised his head to look at Davis.  He was something small and fragile then and the darker boy felt a swift pain contract his heart.

"I could," Ken murmured.  "Couldn't you?"

The Child of Courage and Friendship blushed again turned away, feeling confused and light-headed.  "I think I'd be a robin."

"Robins are fragile.  They don't live very long."

"But they can fly."

"Not without the wind."

For a minute the two were quiet and then Davis laughed.

"That sounds like that corny old American song."  He made a gagging sound and feigned choking himself.

"Why a bird?" Ken asked, smiling faintly.

He halted his antics and stood.  His brown eyes were serious once more, a secret, strange expression, and he looked thoughtful, assuming the unconscious wisdom of the innocent.  "The same reasons as you, I guess."  He shrugged and shifted restlessly.  "It's free.  But it's also something that people can see and understand.  A robin is just robin, nothing more.  They don't need to wear masks or pretend."

"And you're saying that we pretend?"

"Are you saying that we don't, your Imperial Highness?" Ken stiffened, but Davis didn't notice.  "You should know more about pretensions than any of us.  Look at TK.  He's not nearly as innocent and pure as he acts.  Kari isn't the embodiment of Light and perfection.  Cody has problems and issues that we'll never know.  Even Yolei is more than she looks, I guess.  None of us are what we appear to be."

"And what about you, Motomiya?"

A pair of dark eyes widened in surprise as Ken continued.  "We all know that I'm screwed up, but what about you?  Are you really as bouncy and simple as you appear?"

The wind blew softly and Davis looked away from the other boy's piercing gaze, a third incriminating blush surging up to stain his cheeks a dusky rose.

Ken cocked his head to the side.  "Would you like to see something special, Davis?"

He eyed the other boy curiously, unable to discern the odd expression on his face.  "Alright."

Ken grinned then, an unusual, but pleasant expression on his delicate face, and then screwed his eyes shut.  He cupped his hands together, extended his arms and his slender body trembled.  The air around him seemed to shimmer.

"Ken, what are you—"

"My power isn't that strong here but . . ."

The shimmering intensified and slowly swirled down into his palms.

"Ken . . ."

"I can't make you a bird . . ." The trembling ceased and Ken opened his eyes.  He opened his cupped hands.  " . . . But I can make one _for_ you."

Davis's face softened.  "Aw, Ken . . ." 

Lying in Ken Ichijouji's palm was a perfectly sculpted robin formed of ice.  It glittered brightly, like glass or crystal.  It was beautiful.

The shorter boy gingerly lifted the bird and examined it.  Its wings were stretched wide in flight.  He stared at Ken in amazement.  "Why?  How . . .?"

"You've always stood up for me," he said simply.

"Ken . . ." Davis shook his head.  "Cody was the one who believed in you.  He was the one who brought you back."

"It was all of you.  But you stood by me from the beginning.  You never doubted, never faltered, not even for an instant."  Ken voice dropped and his eyes softened to a shimmering blue.  "I'd be lost without you, Davis."

A sudden beeping startled them.  Ken looked down at his waist.  "It's my D-Terminal."

He pulled out the device and popped it open.  His eyes widened briefly when he scanned it and he quickly read over it again to be sure he wasn't mistaken.

_Hey there, Kenny-boy,_

How goes the war?  Things are fine here—almost back to normal.  The Airdramon send their regards.  You should really pay them a visit soon.  I'll be continuing on in my duties, hopefully with some help soon.  I just wanted to say thank you.  I'd say I'm sorry, but we both know that it wouldn't matter.  Be good, Kenny-boy.  Be strong.  Your destiny is not yet complete and it will lead you to the answers to your questions. 

_ This is only the beginning._

_Your friend,_

_Gennai—Guardian of the Chosen._

Ken smiled and shook his head.  "It figures."

"What is it?"

"Hmm?"  He looked up and snapped his D-Terminal closed.  "A note from an old friend, that's all."  He returned the device to his pocket.  "Well, aren't we going to a picnic, Digidestined?"

Davis grinned.  The spell was broken, the moment gone.  "I thought that you were going to sit here and pout about things that you couldn't change."

Ken snorted and bent down to pick up his ever-present school bag.  He stood, automatically straightening his shirt and smoothing his pants.  "Just because things didn't turn out happily ever after doesn't mean that I can't amuse myself for the moment.  Even geniuses need a break now and again.  Besides," he smirked.  "I still need to kick your ass at soccer."

"What?!  You wish, Ichijouji!  You couldn't hurt my shadow!"

Ken shoved him lightly, surprising him and knocking him off balance.  "Yeah?  Then catch me if you can, Digidestined!"

"Cheater!!"

He took off towards the picnic area, Davis hot in pursuit.

To any passerby who knew them from two weeks before, they didn't seem any different.  Davis was still open and optimistic.  Ken was still cool and cynical.  But they were different.  The change was inside them—inside all the Digidestined who fought in the Dark World.  

They had set as children, ignorant of themselves, distrustful of each other, and just a little bit afraid of the future.  They left the fight, still children, but a bit surer of themselves and one another.  And perhaps they left a little bit of their Light, Hope, Courage, Kindness, Love, Faith, Purity, Friendship, and Knowledge behind in the black sands, but they walked away with something much stronger—each other.

Behind them, a small bird made of ice was melting on a park bench.  The droplets of water slipped through the cracks in the wood and, as the wind blew, it gently carried the liquid down to rest on the lush green grass below.  The water gleamed like something precious in the afternoon sun, but nobody noticed it.

**_~Fin~_**

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**::COMING SOON::**

**Book Two of The Revelations Arch:**

Eidolon Am I 

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